Found
by Panda212
Summary: A young girl shows up in Clint and Natasha's life in an odd way. When her past catches up with not just her, they and the team find out what truly defines a family. Set one year after Avenger (2012). T because I'm paranoid. First fanfiction, so please be nice, thanks.
1. First Sightings

Chapter 1

Anna

My mother pulls me close as we walk into the pregnancy clinic. It's small but comfortable. There's already two people sitting in chairs, flipping through magazines. One is a woman; she looks beautiful with red hair, framing her perfect face. The man next to her has short, sandy brown hair and is lean but muscular.

We check in and take our seats. My mother looks nervous, so I sit on what's left of her eight-month pregnant lap.

"It's okay, Mommy. Just like always." I try to sooth her quietly.

"I know. I just hate that you can't come with me. You know I can't handle much of that anymore." She whispers in my ear.

"Yeah, but Mikey is always with you. You're not going to be alone." I reason.

"Yes, but Michael is going to be born at some point, and both of you will leave me." She starts to worry herself all over again.

Really. Mom, we've had this conversation at least three times everyday. When are you going to let go?

"No, we won't leave you. We always be with you." I attempt to soothe her.

She stays quiet, as if she was thinking about the validity of that statement.

After Dad died in Iraq, she's not been all here. She stopped really trying at life because he would "no longer be there for her" and "everyone she loves is just going to leave her". Now, I wake her up, try to feed her with my limited cooking skills, and take care of my brother. The rest of the family? It's complicated. They want to help, but first off, they have no idea how to help. Secondly, Mom won't let them because she doesn't want to get close to them and have them die on her, too. I remain in her life solely because I take care of her

A doctor calls out, "Mr. and Mrs. Barton, you can come back now." The couple leaves, and Dr. Johnson, Mom's obstetrician, comes out to explain to Mom about how I'm too young and insurance won't let me near the equipment they use.

This time, Mom seems to be taking it well. Then the doctor turns to me and smiles.

"Sweetheart, I know that you are trying to take care of your mother, but she needs more greens and protein in her diet. I'm proud you got her here, but I need to really try, okay?" He looks with concerned brown eyes into mine.

"No! I know I am not the best mother, but I am trying. She does not need that kind of weight on her." My mother yells.

Mom, if you don't want me to carry the weight but you don't to either, than I have to.

"Now, Mrs. Crown, then you would have to start getting up and eating and shopping for yourself." The doctor is getting frustrated with her stubbornness.

He's had this conversation with her many times.

"How can I get up and live when my husband is dead?! How can I move on when my other half has left me alone?!" Great, now she's using her hands and shaking.

Dr. Johnson makes the smart move and leaves the room. Yelling can be heard from the other side, and a male nurse I've never seen before comes storming out, holding a syringe and complaining of a migraine.

This has worked a few times, so I guess he thinks it will work again or that this is the last option we have. Mom usually calms down, or they administer the drug and then she calms down enough to not hurt the baby and go in for her appointment.

"Mom just calm down. You are not alone; I told you. Mikey and I will always be here, and dad is, too. He's here." I say, placing a hand on her heart. This time, she just keeps screaming because all she sees is the needle, ignoring my words.

She had been afraid of needles from a young age. Of course, she had to get over it, but in her mental state mixed with crazy hormones, she reverts into herself.

Smart move, nurse. Probably should've gotten permission because I can see your boss behind you, telling you to calm down and that you need more anger managment classes at the rec center. Seriously, now that couple, the Barton's or whatever, are taking notice at all the shouting.

Time slows as the nurse breaks into a half-hearted jog to inject my flailing mother and relieve his apparent head ache. The lady from before rushes over to Mom and tries to move her back, but she's moving too much to grab without injuring her or Mikey; while the man tries to stop the nurse, but he isn't having any of it and lunges for it.

They're too late. He had thrown the syringe mid-lunge in panic from suddenly being grabbed. The syringe breaks my skin, and I feels its effects as I slump against the chair, sideways, pressing it harder into my side. Everything starts going black, as my mother yells something inaudibly.

* * *

I don't own any rights to Marvel or their character. But Anna and her mom are mine.


	2. Odd Beginnings

Chapter 2

Everything goes black, but I can feel my body being lifted up.

Mrs. Crown

My daughter grows lax against her seat, pushing the needle deeper, and all I see is red. I try to move, but arms are holding me back.

"Hey, it's okay. She'll be okay." A soft, feminine voice is whispering, trying to calm me.

"No! She won't be okay. She has cancer, and chemo fatigues her! Whatever sedative that was could KILL her!" I slowly realize what that means. Tears start pouring down.

The lady turns me around and lets me cry into her shoulder. She says nothing but rubs circles on my back.

After a while, I look up. The cops are there and so are some of Anna's nurses.

"Ma'am, we can take you to your daughter after a few questions." A cop explains. He asks the couple to stay and give testimonies, too.

An hour of questioning later, we are in the police cruiser, heading to New York- Presbyterian Morgan Stanley- Komansky Children's Hospital. My daughter had been treated there for Stage III Neuroblastoma when we first moved and when she relapsed.

She has been moved into her room after several tests to see what could be done and is lying quietly on her bed.

Her oncologist, Dr. Smith, quietly enters.

"What can we do?"

"Nothing now. The sedative has put her into a coma. We don't know when she may wake up. It could be hours or months. I'm sorry." She reports and leaves the room.

I sit down and grab her cold hand in mine.

"I know I'm a sucky mother at best and I'm sorry. After your father and I got you, we were so happy. Even through the cancer, you kept us smiling and laughing. When Michael died, I lost a part of me that can never be replaced, but you, you took everything in stride and picked me up. I can't lose you now. Please, for both my sake and Mikey's, wake up soon." I squeeze her small hand in mine and press it to my cheek. Needles once scared me, but I had overcome the fear. With the hormones and losing Michael, I just lost all control.

The door opens and closes to reveal the couple from the clinic.

What were they doing here? And why did they care?

"Um, hi, my name is Natalie Barton and this is my husband, Clint Barton. We just wanted to make sure you and your daughter were okay." They look genuinely concerned.

"I'm okay, but she's in a coma. The doctors don't know if or when she'll wake up." I answer in a soft tone, looking straight into green eyes.

"I hope she wakes up soon. Look, I don't know your situation, but we're here incase you need anything." She offers as they leave the room.

How odd. When Michael was alive, he was a Marine. He had taught me to be wary of people, especially when we lived in France and didn't know who the enemy was. I guess that habit didn't die.

Natasha

Clint and I had been asked by Fury what had happened and what the results were. After all, it was job his to know.

We had explained what happened with the little girl. He looked into it and found that she had an odd past. No birth certificate or social security number. How did she receive medical treatment?

We let him know that we were infertile. He told us he was sorry and asked us to look into the family. Something wasn't right with them.

A week past, and the only news was that the girl's full name was Anna Lucy Crown. She was adopted at four after being given up because of her cancer. She was French, supposedly, in birth and was extremely smart.

"She doesn't seem dangerous. Why are we looking into this?" Clint asks after our report.

"Agent Barton, I have been conducting my own investigation. Here, this is what I've found."

Name: Anna Lucy Crown

Parents: unknown

Date of birth: unknown

Age: 7

Bio: She was found by the US army, while stationed in France. After a medical checkup, it was found she had a foreign substance in her blood. Her mind is one of a thirty-year-olds. Upon further testing, it was found that she had cancer and was likely given up for that reason. She was adopted by Lily and Michael Crown. He was KIA two months ago, leaving Lily pregnant with Anna.

Anything else about her is classified or nonexistent.

"Soo, you want us to do what about this?" I ask sarcastically, while tossing the file onto the desk.

This kid has a rough life, who am I to go barging into it. I'm pretty sure I'll only make it more complicated.

"I want to know who put that foreign substance there. We can't have mad scientists, testing innocent children running around without us knowing."

"Fine, but I don't think we'll be able to do much. The Mom doesn't really trust us."

She's right to assume, but we need to get this over with.

"Well, it's only been a week. Give it time. If nothing happens, you can go back to being assassins, plus this is for getting married, joining S.H.I.E.L.D. and never bothering to tell us."

We grumble some and shuffle out.

Lily

Most days, getting up is beyond difficult but now it seems impossible. My only reasons are my kids. Mikey needs me to get up for him and take care of him, and Anna needs me to be there for her.

The Barton's have been gracious in not over stepping boundaries. They still seem odd, but they haven't seem deterred by my family.

My stomach starts to hurt, perhaps I ate too much last night. No, I look down as a warm liquid spills down my legs and see blood, seeping and staining my jeans.

* * *

Still don't own Marvel or their characters, just Anna and family.


	3. Really!

SIDE NOTE: Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the crazy ideas that keep me up at night. Personally, I don't mind if you review or not, just enjoy and if not then don't read it, cause who wants to waste time reading something boring ;) -A.

* * *

Chapter 3

What! No! Not after all of this. Seriously, how much can one person handle?!

I stumble over to the phone and call 9-1-1.

Everything starts to blur.

"Please, I'm pregnant and something is wrong; I'm bleeding."

My voice sounds quieter than I expected.

"Ma'am, just hold on. We'll be right there."

3rd Person

The ambulance arrives to find a frail woman lying on the linoleum floor of her kitchen, passed out and surrounded by her own blood.

They skip the ER and head straight for the OB/GYN wing.

Both mother and child die within minutes of each other, the child from malnutrition, and the mother from blood loss.

The doctors find she has a daughter, who was comatose for an indefinite amount of time.

Anna POV

Darkness everywhere, but a small dot of light grew until the entire room filled with it.

A figure slowly came into focus.

"Daddy, I've missed you!" I scream as I launch myself into his arms.

"Hey, little girl, I've missed you, too."

"Am I dead?" I ask as I stare into his eyes.

"Nope, you're just here for a little while, then you go back, okay?"

"Okaay, but I want to stay here." I practically begged, putting on my best pout.

He chuckles, "No, you have a mission to accomplish, then you can go back."

"Really? I guess that's okay, as long as you never ever leave me."

"Never."

Natasha

Fury is eventually notified by some agents on Anna's case of what just happened.

"Agent Romanoff, you and Agent Barton will be temporarily taking care of Anna. At least until we find out what the substance is and who put it there. You will go to the hospital, tell them you are distant relatives and wait until further instruction. I have made sure that you both have legal documentation of your custody rights."

"Really, first you ask us to stick our noses into other people's business. Now we're going to just join the family. How is the girl supposed to react?!"

"Agent Barton, it's not for forever. We just need her story from before she was four. Then you can leave her."

"How am I supposed to connect with an orphan girl with cancer and leave her!? I may be an assassin, but I'm not heartless."

He had a point; although, I think I might just pull that off.

"Well, Agent, that's for you to figure out. Dismissed."

This was going to be interesting...

Anna

"What's the mission, Daddy." I just want to get it over with and get back here.

"You're going to teach people how to love unconditionally. The kind of love you taught Mommy, me, your friends, and everyone that ever came into contact with you."

"That sounds hard, Daddy. I can't just walk up to them and be like 'Hey, I'm Anna, and I'm going to teach you about how to love.'"

"No, all you have to do is be you. You are so amazing at showing people love by just loving on them, like you friends or your brother; you don't know him, but you still love him. These people have hard lives, and their jobs drain them. You're going to recharge them, show them innocence in the face of a corrupt world, and be there for them to come home to.

"I guess I can do that." I answer, trying to be optimistic.

"I know you can, Darling." Dad reassures me.

Two more figures appear...

* * *

Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and her fam


	4. Ours

Chapter 4

Natasha

Clint and I walk into Anna's bedroom after talking with the doctors and filling them in on who we were.

Her mother hadn't really let us near Anna's room, so we explore quietly, listening to the steady beeps.

Her room is decorated with pictures. At least twenty total pictures were scattered throughout the room. We both notice that before chemotherapy, her hair was red, long and wavy. She looked like a poster child, some pictures make her gray eyes occasionally sparkle blue.

She almost seems familiar.

One is of her in a military base. She's standing in front of a line of soldiers, holding them at attention.

Another is her family at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Her father was a tall, muscular man. He had army-cut black hair and a strong jaw. Her mother looked much livelier and happy, a big smile spread across her face.

Fury had told us to ask about her condition and get a blood sample.

The doctors were not able to say much.

"Well, because of their ties with the Marines, we never were to question the substance in her blood, unless it interfered with her treatment. The army even sent a Sergeant T to make sure we didn't mess with anything. Apparently, she had the men wrapped around her finger. The Sergeant only said that they had tried to run tests, but she was so afraid of them after she saw tubes, they couldn't force her to."

A nurse told us that Anna never really minded talking about her past so long as the people could be trusted.

Well, the kid has that much right. This was going to be hard.

We got permission from the doctors and sent the blood to Dr. Banner to test.

At the Tower

Bruce Banner had been surprised several times by his teammates; the way the accepted his "Other Guy" side, how they always knew to cheer him up or get him out of the lab when he spent too much time there, but this was entirely unexpected. The blood from Anna Crown had come up as a lineage match for a certain Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton.

How was he supposed to tell them that, especially since he probably shouldn't know she existed?

Anna's room

"Hello, Bruce, what are the test results?"

"Well, I found that the substance is a brain enhancer, but that's about it. The chemical makeup changes with her as she grows; I've never seen a more complicated serum, not even for Steve. I'm sending you the results, so you can see for yourself before I send them to Fury."

Fury won't be happy; he'll want more tests done to understand all there is to know about this serum.

"Okay, thanks, Bruce. See you later."

I look down at the results, and for once in my life, my breathe hitches in my throat.

This isn't real; we gave her up so long ago. How could she be here?

Although, my traitor mind reminded me of how familiar she looks, her nose, chin, hair, and especially her eyes.

Clint hears the foreign noise coming from my throat and looks up. I quickly recompose myself and hand the tablet to him.

"What! How did she end up here?!" He hisses.

Anna

The two figures come into focus. My heart plummets to my stomach, Mommy and Mikey.

"How are you here?" I ask, praying it wasn't what I thought.

"I bled out in the hospital room." My mother states as she combs her fingers through my hair.

Hey, I had hair again! Wow, I guess I'm easily distracted or something; you'd think I'd notice that.

"Hi." Mikey, who looks just as old as Mommy and Daddy, smiles at me.

"Mikey!" I shout as I throw myself into his arms, "I should have tried harder to save you; I'm sorry!"

"No!" All three of them shout at me.

"You did everything and more. It just wasn't meant to be, sis. It's going to be alright. I'm here, and I still get to meet you." Mikey's words calm me down.

I pull back to get a good look at him. He has Dad's hair and Mom's nose and chin. His eyes match Grandma's, hazel.

"Anna, honey, you need to go back soon." Mom says sadly.

"Just a little bit longer." I plead.

"Just a little bit longer." Father gives in.

Clint

"Our daughter... is right here... in front of us." I barely stagger the words out.

This wasn't ever supposed to happen. Why can't she just stay put?

Natasha just walks over to me and takes my hand, searching my eyes for answers.

"Yeah, so what are we going to do? I mean, we thought we were keeping her safe from the danger and pain that living with us would cause her, but we've already failed. It's not like she'll want us, or we'll be good parents." She reasons.

We stare at her face, peaceful and blissful of the turmoil in the room.

"Well, I don't think we have a choice. We have to take care of her anyways. Maybe, we can see what its like. I know we can't have anymore kids, but maybe this is why." I suggest, trying not to overwhelm Natasha with my hopes at finally having a family.

"I mean", I continue, "we never do things the normal way."

It's true; Fury always says we never do things by the book, ever.

"I just don't know, but I'll think about it... How do we tell Fury?"

Right, he's going to furious, no pun intended. Seriously, we might end up in Siberia watching grass grow for a few months or doing everyone's paperwork for the next decade.

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.


	5. Explanations and Introductions

Thanks for reading, hope you like it! -A.

* * *

Chapter 5

Natasha

"Agent Romanoff, you and Barton better get in my office now!"

Fury screeches over the phone.

That man has perfect timing.

We leave the hospital and head straight to his office.

He is standing outside his office, waiting.

"Care to explain what's going on?!" He demands, as we enter and take our seats.

"We found out I was pregnant and choose to give her away for her own safety. Obviously, we didn't expect her back in our lives." I respond.

"Yeah, but now she is now so what are you going to do about it?"

I look at Clint, and he nods.

"We'd like her back. We can still go on missions, just not at the same time for a while, and when we do, the team will take care of her."

Fury seems to contemplate our idea.

Perhaps, he'll let up on us now a kids involved.

"Fine, but you have a mission already planned in three days. It's short, in and out. You should be home in a few days. Also, congratulations, now leave."

Softy.

When we get back to Anna's room, Clint says, "That was unexpected; I bet he'll still get his revenge."

"Yeah, but it took him eight years to punish us last time. I think we should be worried about the team."

They were not going to happy that we kept this from them.

"We can handle them. Besides, they'll love having a kid in the tower. Someone to play with."

We're sitting on either side of Anna. She still hasn't woken up.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Smith, Anna's oncologist."

"Hello." We both look up and see a young woman with thick blonde hair and a lab coat walk in.

"I understand you're her new guardians, so I need to fill you in on some things. First off, she relapsed about five months ago and was admitted to start treatment. Her father past away, and her white cell counts dropped. We decided to hold off chemo, so she could take care of her mom and regain cell count. Right now, she is almost there, and we need to start treatment when she wakes, which should be soon." We've been seeing small amounts if brain activity over the past few days."

That's good; she'll be up, and then we can go.

"How will we do her treatment?" Clint asks.

Good point, we can't be back and forth that much.

"She has a Hickman line in, so treatment will be administered through that line. It also needs cleaning with heparin to prevent clots. The process isn't that hard. Most of the time Anna prefers to put it in herself; she just needs a doctor's supervision. She will normally do out patient therapy, but you do have the option of doing that at home. We offer equipment, so our patients have that option."

Clint and I look at each, conversing silently about what to do. Finally, he looks up.

"We have a friend who is a doctor. Can we have him supervise?"

"That's fine, but all three of you should be present in two days to learn about the administration and effects of the chemo."

"That's fine with us." I say.

I'd rather know as much as I can about this anyways.

She exits, and we call Bruce. After explaining our situation, he agrees to help take care of Anna when we leave.

Now to tell Earth's mightiest heroes they have a new family member.

Clint

We leave shortly after visiting hours end.

The drive is quick and quiet.

"So, Legolas, when we you going to mention the kid?" Stark remarks, effectively trapping us in the elevator.

"We saw the test results. Want to explain?" Steve growls at us as he walks up.

"We'll tell you, just let us off the elevator, first."

They step back, and we walk to the living room. Pepper, Bruce, and Thor are waiting.

"Friend Barton, why have you not told us of your child?" Booms Thor.

Clint and I exchange a glance, and he begins.

"When we found out we were pregnant, we knew we couldn't tell anyone or keep her. We couldn't put her danger like that, so we went to an orphanage in Pennsylvania and asked not to be notified if anything happened. I assure you, we never thought we'd see her again. We didn't even name her."

They look satisfied with our answer, so I begin the next part.

"We first saw Anna and her adopted mother, Lily, at the clinic I went to, to see if I could have anymore children. Her mother had attachment issues, despite coming to the clinic often for checkup, she couldn't leave Anna and go back. We left to see what the results were; then we heard yelling. I ran out and saw that a doctor was advancing on Lily. I tried to pull her back, and Clint tried to stop the doctor. The syringe was lodged in Anna's neck, and she lost consciousness. Her mother explained or more like yelled that she had cancer and the sedative could kill her." I paused to recollect my thoughts.

"So, is she okay?" Pepper asks.

Pepper, she always takes these things so well. Tony on the other hand...

"She's in a coma, that's how we got the blood sample without a fight. Apparently, she had a violent childhood. She hasn't told anyone, and those who do know are either dead or too loyal to tell. Fury wanted us to look after her to learn about her past, but we want to keep her." I finish and squeeze Clint's hand.

"You're telling me a mini-assassin with a genius mind and you as parents is coming to live here." Tony asks, incredulously.

"Yes, she is, but she also has to take chemo for her cancer, Neuroblastoma Stage III. Bruce will oversee treatments, but we have a mission in three days. If she wakes up before we come back, she is going to live on Bruce's floor. You can tell her about us but now who we are, okay?" I ask in earnest, looking around the room. Everyone nods and seems to be digesting the information.

At least they aren't objecting and throwing a fit.

The next day, we take the team to meet her. Only two people are allowed in her room, so I bring Bruce in first.

"Here she is. She's been in a coma for just under three weeks."

"She looks like you with your nose and Clint's jaw." Bruce remarks.

Her hand is in mine, small and relatively cool.

He asks a few questions and leaves.

Steve enters next.

"Wow, she's adorable." He smiles at us.

"Thanks, the doctors say she should wake up any day now with heightened brain activity."

"That's good. I wonder what her voice sounds like." He thinks aloud as he picks up the picture of her at the military base.

"She lived in a military base? She seems to have it all under control, the men, too." He laughs at the sight of a bald, five-year-old, saluting a row of men at least seven times her body mass.

"Yeah, her dad was Michael Crown, a marine. They found her while he was stationed in France. As the story goes, they all grew attached to her, but when Lily came for a visit, she wanted to adopt her." I tell him the limited information we have on her past.

Finally, Tony comes in because Pepper is busy but sends her love.

"She's small for a seven-year-old." He immediately points out.

"The doctor says her being ill for most of her life has stunted her growth, and they don't know if the serum has had any affect."

"Well, she's still cute. The tower will have a new member." He smiles a little at her, he seems excited.

I guess seeing her has some kind of effect because he is never this quiet or polite.

Clint and I kiss her cheek goodbye and go home.

The next two days pass quickly, and tomorrow, we leave to kill the people that did this to her.

"You leave at 16:00. Be ready by 15:30 to leave." Agent Hill reminded us.

We have six hours.

The first two are spent learning about Neuroblastoma and Anna's treatment plan. She has to come in once a week for radiation in out patient, and Bruce will be giving her a total of three rounds of chemo. The doctors say the cancer has slowed in growth, so we should be able to get her N.E.D. by Thanksgiving.

That sounds like a fairytale to me. I mean, when has anything gone my way, but hopefully she's the exception.

* * *

Note: first off, I don't own Marvel, just Anna and the fam. Second, I'm not a doctor so any references may be wrong, but N.E.D. stands for "no evidence of disease." Thirdly, hope you like it. :)- A.


	6. Awake

Chapter 6

We have four hours left, and Anna still hasn't woken up.

Clint is downstairs at the cafeteria, getting us lunch.

I'm sitting beside her with my hand clasped around hers. The doctor told us to talk to her. We have been talking to her, telling her trivial things but never broaching our pasts.

"Hi, Anna, it's mom. You need to wake up soon, sweetheart. Daddy and I are leaving today. You know, when you were born, I considered keeping you. I really did. I'm so sorry; you were supposed to go to a loving family that would keep you safe."

For some reason, I felt guilty. Perhaps because she had cancer or an unknown, complex serum in her or that she lost her family. No, all those things were out of my control; a small part of me wants to believe it's maternal instinct but knows that I don't know how to be a mother. I never knew what a mother's love felt like. Clint's voice interrupts my thoughts.

"They only had some sandwiches and chips. I hope that's okay."

"Clint, do you think we's be good parents?"

"Natasha, you'll be a fine mother."

He saw right through me, as always. I rolled my eyes.

"I mean it, Tasha. Look at how you've adjusted to the Avengers. They're like our family. You love each of them, so I know you to love. You love her, right?"

"Yes, I do."

At first, I really didn't think I could because of my past, but I learned to love Clint and my team, and then she found a place, too.

We eat and talk for the rest of the time.

"Goodbye, Anna, we love you. Wake up soon." We kiss her goodbye and get ready to go.

Anna

My parent's disappear and blackness swallows me.

Voices, there are voices slowly getting clearer.

"Anna, can you here me? I guess you can't answer that. I'm your mother, your original one, Natasha Romanoff or Barton, I suppose. I know that's a bit of a shock. You probably don't remember, but I'm the woman from the clinic. I found out a few days ago that you're my biological daughter. When I found out I was pregnant, I got scared, but your father convinced me to have you. I gave you up because what I do is dangerous. I didn't want you to have a target on your back. I don't know what happened to you before the Crown's adopted you but from what I can tell it's too late for that. I have to go now, okay. I'll be back."

Her voice sounded monotone at first but slowly filled with regret.

My mother, my real mother. How am I supposed to process this?!

For all my life, I've wanted to know, why would you give up an innocent baby? Do you still love me or think about like I think about you?

If I was awake, I don't know if I'd cry in anger or in sadness.

Another voice starts coming into focus.

"...and I have no idea how to be a father. I don't regret you, though; I regret thinking you would be safe. I just wish I had known. I don't know what's going to happen, just know that your mother and I love you."

His voice is filled with sorrow and love.

At least I know they love me.

I can't stay angry forever. Besides, they couldn't have guessed what hell my life would become, plus I wouldn't have met Sergeant T or Mr. and Mrs. Crown. I wouldn't have learned how to overcome adversity or have a cute French accent. I would only have the mind of a seven-year-old, instead of a well-educated, cultured thirty-year-old; I can't imagine having such low level of maturity, especially with what happened at the labs. I probably would've shut down and lost myself.

No, I can't be mad at them. I have to teach them unconditional love. Love that isn't blind to wrongs but is forgiving of faults and sees past the people's past mistakes.

I still have no idea how to do that.

Another voice, "Goodbye, Anna, we love you. Wake up soon."

Then I feel a kiss against my cheek, soft and warm.

Next thing I know, there's a blinding light. I shield my eyes with my arm as they adjust.

A man is sitting in a chair next to me.

"Hi, my name is Bruce Banner. You're parents are going to be home, hopefully in two days. I'm here to take you home, but first Dr. Smith wants to talk to you."

"Hey, Anna. I don't know how much you've heard, but you've been in a coma for about three weeks."

It feels like only a day has past, since I saw Mom, Dad, and Mikey.

"Your mother, Lily, died in childbirth and so did Mikey. I am so sorry, but some distant relatives have offered to adopt you."

Okay, she doesn't know who my birth parents are. I'm going to assume that's for a reason. Natasha did say their job was dangerous. I'm sure Bruce will tell me about it.

"Your cell count is up enough so we want you to start chemo again. Dr. Banner, here, can help you, but you know what to do. After about three rounds of chemo and four rounds of radiation, the cancer should be gone. In the meantime, you'll do therapy at home and come in once a week for radiation."

"Okay, that sounds fine, but when is the funeral. Did I miss it?"

Geez, I really hope I didn't.

"Yes, I'm sorry, but the family had a small service. They're buried next to Michael."

I keep all the emotions, surging inside me, at bay and nod.

"Because your parents are at a business conference, Bruce will take you home."

I say nothing on the drive home. All the equipment is in the trunk, along with a suitcase of the clothes I keep at the hospital.

Bruce tells me that the my old house was sold, and everything else was put in storage. I can retrieve my personal stuff tomorrow.

We arrive at a huger tower, at least two-hundred floors.

"Welcome to Stark Tower, Anna."

My new home is awesome!

* * *

I do not own Marvel, just Anna, Michael, Mikey, and Lily.


	7. Meet the Family

NOTE: I hope you enjoy this crazy thought turned story. :) -A.

* * *

Chapter 7

When we step out of the elevator, two men and a woman are sitting on a crescent-shaped couch.

"Anna, this is Steve, Tony and Pepper. You can think of us as your aunts and uncles."

I smile and wave.

"Hi, I'm Anna. I am seven-years-old. I like the color blue and am fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, and English, obviously. I learned French first, though."

I figure a good first impression should keep them satisfied and to give only a little information on my past. I have plenty more up my sleeve. I've never minded switching families so fast, I've done it before.

"Well, you can call me Aunt Pepper. Tony, here, is my boyfriend."

"Not just boyfriend, genius/ philanthropist/ playboy boyfriend." Tony corrects her in all seriousness.

I burst out laughing. I think he and I will be good friends.

"Anyways, I'm Steve, but I guess you can call me Uncle Steve."

"Anna", Bruce looks worried but continues, "all of us are part of a superhero group called the Avengers." He pauses and waits for a reaction.

I would react, but I have no clue what that means. The French go out of their way to avoid American culture, and I've never really given into the urge to be a child because of the side effects of my serum, so I have no clue who they are.

"Cool, but what does that mean?"

"You've never heard of us, 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes'! We save the world when it's in trouble. Fought off Chautari, Iron Man, the Hulk... am I ringing a bell?" Tony starts to ramble.

So, they save the world as alter-egos that have super powers.

"No, you're going to have to explain this." I state flatly.

Aunt Pepper speaks up.

"Okay, Steve, here, is known as Captain America. He was given a serum, like you except, to make him stronger. He was frozen in a block of ice for seventy years. Bruce made a mistake in the lab with gamma radiation, and when he gets mad, he turns into a huge, green monster called the Hulk. Tony made an Iron Man suit, which is virtually indestructible and shoots missiles and what have you. There's also Thor, God of Thunder. He's from Asgard, a different planet. You should meet him tomorrow. We're all part of an government American security agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. Your parents are on a mission right now. They are assassins known as the Black Widow and Hawkeye. That's mainly what we do, put away bad guys, threatening America and the world's safety.

They know about my serum. If I didn't know what labs and scientists were capable of, I would never give her story a shred of credibility. Also, my parents kill bad guys for a living, no wonder they didn't think it logical to keep me. At least I understand more now.

"How do you know about my serum?" I ask as emotionlessly as I can.

"When Fury, our director, first heard of your situation, he had your parents look into your case. He privately searched and found that you had a strange substance in you, so after your mother, Lily, died, he had Natasha and Clint pose as distant relatives to get your blood, knowing you wouldn't fight back in a coma. The test results are what told us that you were there daughter, biologically." Bruce explains in a calm voice.

That sounds really, really complicated and convoluted, but now I have a family. I guess that sort of makes for everything.

"Okay, I'm going to take a nap, if you don't mind. Where am I going to stay?"

Aunt Pepper gets up and leads me two floors down. Uncle Bruce carries my suitcase.

"You'll be staying in a guest room on my floor until your parents get back." Bruce puts my things in an empty, spacious bedroom.

"Thank you, Aunt Pepper. Thank you, Uncle Bruce."

They chuckle a little and shut the door.

Immediately, I collapse on the bed and fall asleep.

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.


	8. Hanging with Steve

Chapter 8

When I wake up, it's two in the afternoon, and I'm hungry.

I go back upstairs to the living room to find Uncle Steve, watching TV.

"Hey, Uncle Steve, can I get some lunch, please?

"No problem, what do to you want?"

"Tomato soup would be nice, thanks."

"Coming right up."

After ten minutes, he brings out a bowl of steaming, tomato soup.

"So do you have any hobbies?"

"I like working out and practicing or reading. The serum I have gives me more physical strength, too, but it was mainly for brains. Besides, living with the army, you learn a few things."

He looks slightly surprised but more amused.

"Then not too much has changed since I was in the army. What can you do?"

"When Michael, my adopted father, was out investigating or fighting, the soldiers would bring me to the gym or shooting range. That's were I picked up most of my skills. I can do hand-to-hand, shoot just about anything, throw just about anything, and be stealthy; although some of that is because if the serum."

"It might be, but your parents have all of those qualities and more. Perhaps, you got it from them, too."

That's pretty neat; never thought about that before.

"How about we go down to the gym and see what you can do?"

"Okay, let me clean up first and then we can go." I put my bowl and spoon away and take his hand as he leads me to the gym.

The first thing that strikes me is how large it is. It has everything from a swimming pool, hundreds of punching bags of all sizes, a running track, and a separate room for shooting.

"What do you want to do first?"

"Can we use the punching bags? I remember Michael brought me to the gym once and let me try them."

I call my adoptive parents by their names, so everyone is crystal clear about who I'm referencing.

Uncle Steve gets me something to stand on to make me tall enough to hit the bag. He wraps my fists and lets me go for it as he turns to punch his bag.

My first punch pushes it a little. He smirks at me, and I growl back.

The next hits are firmer and harder. I start to add in kicks, mixing kicks and punches. By the seventh kick, the bag in on the floor.

"Told you I have some extra strength." I tease and smile up at him.

He has four bags across the room.

Next, we work on hand-to-hand. I can crawl around and under him.

He lunges forward as I roll beneath him. I pull my dagger from it's hidden spot and jump. He turns around and tries to catch me, but my shoe collides with his face. I have two seconds to make a move at his throat. He recovers as I jump up and use my hands to pull his head down. He tries to pry me off, but I use my legs to lock around his neck and place the dagger at his temple. We stop because I'm out of breathe and probably shouldn't be working out.

Oh well, too late. I think its worth it.

He has to carry me back to the couch, where I catch my breathe.

"Good job, but maybe we should hold off on the intensity. How about a glass of water and a movie?" He suggests.

I nod. Suddenly, he asks a "Jarvis" to bring up Lion King. A British voice fills the room with a "Yes, sir."

"Who's that?" I ask, genuinely wondering where that came from.

"Oh, that's Jarvis. He's an artificial intelligence system or AI. He was designed, programmed, and installed by Tony to run the house. He can also allow access to the rooms, information, or people's whereabouts in the tower."

"So, is Uncle Tony really a genius then?"

"Haha, yes, he is really a genius. He has a lab where he builds cool gadgets. Bruce is a genius, too. He has his own lab where he works on science stuff."

"Sounds cool." I yawn and lean against him. Guess he's not getting the water. That's okay; I'm tired.

Soon, the sounds grows more distant, and the room goes dim.

* * *

Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and her family.


	9. Nightmares

Chapter 9

Natasha

The mission is taking longer than we thought it would.

On the first day, we find that the scientists have abandoned the old lab and moved somewhere else.

The old lab is horrific.

As we walk through the hallways, Clint comments, "If this is where she really grew up, I'm going to torture and kill every last on of them."

There are rooms filled with small, cramped dog kennels, no beds. Other rooms have tables with restraints or just restraints hanging from the ceiling. All of the computers are missing, and broken needles cover the floor of some rooms.

"We will." I state. "They'll regret ever looking at her."

After searching another day for any evidence, we notify S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Well, I'm looking at records of labs near you right now." Phil's voice comes in over the earpiece.

"Okay, about fifteen miles northeast, there's a lab with reported activity. The document says activity was first sighted three years age. They must have given up their original lab after Anna left or escaped. I'm sending the coordinates now."

"Thanks. See you in a few."

We arrive at the lab to scout that night. The lab is heavily guarded with three security check point just to enter the building. Each door had electronic and physical locks. This must be the place.

This is going to take a while to plan out and execute, but it's worth it.

Bruce

As I work in my lab, Jarvis notifies me that Anna is having a nightmare. I run to her room and find her struggling against an invisible enemy.

"Anna, wake up. Its not real." I sit her up and shake her shoulders gently.

She rubs her eyes with her fists and looks around the room until her eyes catch me. Once she sees me, she throws herself against my chest, sobbing.

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe. No one is going to hurt you."

"You don't get it. They'll always hurt me, just not when I'm awake. They've haunted my dreams ever since I could have them." She cries out.

"I'm so messed up even if I think where I am isn't safe, I imagine them just around the corner, in the shadows, or laughing. I can see them, but I know they're not really there."

My heart breaks. She sounds for dejected, as if it's her fault this happens.

"Then we'll convince you that here is safe, and whenever it doesn't feel like that, tell either your parents or us."

I know I'm not the safest person to be around, but she hasn't done anything to anger me, and I don't think I could live with myself if I frighten her.

"Okay, I will. Thanks." She wipes her tears and smiles weakly up at me.

"I think Aunt Pepper has dinner ready."

Anna

Uncle Bruce tells everyone what happened and what to do if I freak out. They're all really nice about it.

"Anna, tomorrow, the doctors want us to start chemotherapy. Dr. Smith said you start a bag at ten in the morning, and it takes a few hours to empty."

"Yeah, its not that bad; although I should be near a trashcan most of the day. Have you opened the case with my equipment?"

"No, we haven't, but we can after dessert."

After chocolate cake, I open my case. It has syringes, bottles, alcohol wipes, bags of chemo, a retractable stand to hold the chemo, and a plastic box with a design to hold the chemo on the stand.

I've never seen the box before.

Uncle Bruce notices my confusion and tells me that my doctor offered one for me to keep, and he chose it out for me.

It's red with "The Avengers" written horizontally across the top. I let loose a big smile and write "Property of Anna" in sharpie underneath it.

Everyone sits around me in a half circle as I explain how to clean the syringes, take heparin from the bottle with a syringe and administer chemo using my Hickman line.

"You know, I could make you an Iron Box to hold the chemo, instead." Uncle Tony offers as Aunt Pepper elbows him.

"Ow! Okay, okay, no box."

I laugh. "That's okay, but I like this one."

I put everything back, and Bruce tells me to leave the case here for tomorrow.

He takes me back to my room, and I lay awake for five hours, thirty-seven minutes, and eleven seconds, give or take two seconds, before falling asleep.

I wake up at eight, out of habit and begin my daily routine. Breakfast, meditation, for my health so the doctors claim, and a shower, all before chemo.

For meditation, I go up on the roof with a mat. The skyline is picturesque as the sun shines in between the tall buildings. A cool, morning breeze hits me. I close my eyes and begin to process everything that has just happened.

My family is dead.

I need to visit them this afternoon with flowers and a note.

My birth parents found me and want me.

At the same time that I'm happy, I'm nervous. If they gave me up once, they could do it again. I mean I wasn't worth it the first time. How can I show them I am now? I have cancer and emotional issues from my past, plus dealing with Lily's continual bouts depression has messed me up. Not that I don't appreciate her or have anything against depression; it just makes it harder to deal with everything when you don't think tomorrow might be better.

I'm part of a new family that is part of a superhero group.

That's cool, but that means they might be gone a lot. They might get hurt or die on a mission.

My mission! Right, I have to teach assassins how to love unconditionally. I think they have that down, but I'll try.

Maybe, I could join them. I do have brilliant mind, even it is because of serum. Look at Uncle Steve, he's there leader. I've also inherited some proficiency in marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and sneakiness. Plus, I look innocent and weak, that makes me a perfect spy-assassin.

While killing people sounds bad, I know what evil people are capable of.

I open my eyes; the time is nine fifteen, shower time.

Uncle Bruce is in the living room, waiting for me with a kind smile.

Everyone else is there, including a ginormous man, who I assume is Thor.

"Hello, Lady Anna. I am Thor, God of Thunder. My friends tell me you are Friend Barton and Lady Natasha's child."

I smile at him. He smiles back.

Dangerous looking but really a teddy bear, got it.

"That would be me."

As I open the case and prepare the syringe, Thor looks confused and awed at the same time.

"I have an Earth-illness called cancer. This is the medicine it is treated with. That's why I don't have hair." I explain, as I take off my shirt and connect the line into mine. I put my shirt back on, and Bruce hangs up the box with the bag in it on a stand with wheels and a handle.

I maneuver it to the side of the couch and sit.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to tell Jarvis to notify us." Aunt Pepper hugs me and goes back to her office to work.

Uncle Steve stays for a little but has a meeting and leaves.

I only throw up twice, and then the elevator opens to reveal a semi-bald man, holding a clipboard.

"Hi, you must be Anna. I'm your Uncle Phil."

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.


	10. The Past Revisited

Chapter Ten

"I'm your parents' handler. I make sure they come back alive and arrange missions for them."

He steps forward and sits next to me on the couch.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." I reply.

"Listen, I have some news about your parents, nothing bad, I promise. I just need to get everyone in here. Jarvis, tell everyone Phil has some news on Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton."

Everyone rushes into the room and sits down.

"Okay, the mission is taking longer than expected. They should be back in three days. The old lab they were at was abandoned, and the new spot is impossible to break into without more information. Anna, that's where you come in. I know you hate sharing, but if there's anything we need to know, please tell us. Also, your parents are listening from a hotel room in France."

Natasha

We are sitting in the worst hotel France has to offer, but it doesn't matter. My daughter is starting to speak over our earpieces.

"First off, hi, Mommy and Daddy! I hope you make them pay for what they did."

She says like someone would say, "Oh, the guests are here", no big deal. Although, her voice sounds like a baby cherub singing, soprano but not annoyingly high.

"I'll start at the beginning. I was 'adopted' at four months by a man and woman, posing as a married couple. They had adopted me because a company had offered them each one-hundred thousand dollars, cash. I was taken to a laboratory about fifty miles south of Paris. There , they tested a serum that enhanced brain activity. They also tested on cats, dogs, rats, and monkeys. I was the only human because they thought any more kids, and their cover might be blown. The lab happened to be on the outskirts of an American military base for Marines to be stationed, trained and sent out. At the lab, I lived in a kennel in a room with most of the animals. The animals were all used to test placebo serums; I was to receive the final, perfect serum. In the meantime, the scientists chose to learn about my behavior by a series of tests, using another serum to program and simulate them into me. They were simple and got more complicated but never impossible. I got close to the animals and they to me. They were abused, too, so that we would stay weak and in the scientists' control. I was only taken out for tests or food, so I really liked being near the animals. Sometimes, they would try to protect me by putting their arms or shifting their kennels in front of mine, and they got punished every time. They never stopped trying, though."

She had started out in a monotone voice, but it got progressively quieter and sadder as she continued.

Clint wraps his arms around me, pulling me towards his chest. I hear his heart, pounding in his chest.

Tears prick my eyes. She begins to talk again, and her voice has more of her French accent but this time it is emotionless.

"I received the serum four months after arriving. The only reason I know about what happened before this is because I had to take the tests again, so they could calculate the exact results on different parts of my mind and because a monkey friend finger-signed to me everything he remembered about the lab and my origins. He was one of the monkeys stolen from an animal research lab. The scientists lied to me about how my parents gave me to them, hoping to crush me further under their control, but I knew the truth. Their abuse mainly took a more non-sexual sadistic side and mainly served for disciplinary purposes. If I asked for more food or spoke without permission, I was either given a whipping, forced to run until I passed out, put in a kennel with no food or breaks for a month, or one of the animals I had befriended was tortured and killed in front of me. I lost my monkey friend, Aiden, to one of those times. He eventually got caught telling me all these things I wasn't supposed to know."

Her past starts to resemble mine. It makes me shudder against Clint.

"By two, I had learned not to do or say anything that wasn't asked of me, and I plotted my escape. I had the min of an eighteen-year-old, due to a twice yearly dose of serum. My last two years, they taught me language arts, mathematics up to on-level calculus, biology, chemistry, and physics. I know more about the sciences because that's what they knew more about. During that time, I memorized every access code, door, vent shaft, and security camera blind spots and even got some of the animals to help cover for me, but it was all a waste. By the time I was really ready to go, they were being looked into by the French government on accounts of suspicious activity and suspected animal abuse. They also saw from my last physical that I had an advanced cancer, so they left me in front of the military base and abandoned the lab. That's where Sergeant T's men found me on one of their runs. That's were I picked up on learning marksmanship, hand-to-hand and stealth, but I also had it in me from Mom and Dad. They took me in and looked after me. After three months, I finally opened up to them. Immediately, they took me to get treated. One of the men, Michael took care of me at the hospital. He and I got along well, and when Lily came, she got attached to me, too. I think you know the rest."

I start to pound Clint's chest. Why would anyone do that to a little girl? Why? Not back then and not now could that ever be justified as right. No matter, these men were going to pay one hundred times over for their crimes.

"Sergeant T had my blood tested once; I was too freaked out to give blood again. He said they found the enhancer was changing with me but had no effect of the cancer or chemo."

There was a shuffling and muffled voices.

"Hey, Mommy and Daddy. I asked to just talk to you two. From what I know, they are still probably scared of the government finding out about them. Even if they don't do testing any more, you can always bust them for what happened. Perhaps, posing as federal investigators, that would at least get you in the lab. The real problem is finding the scientists. They stay in the confines of the lab. You'll need a way to bring them out of their hiding spots. If you mention me, maybe you'll get enough reaction to pull them out. Then, take them out!"

We laugh a little at her enthusiasm.

"We'll look into it. Thank you for the help and for being so strong. We're proud of you, and we're sorry. We love you."

There was nothing else to say; it was all true.

"Don't be sorry. I know it didn't turn out like it was supposed to, but I'm back now. I miss you. Come home soon. I love you, too!"

The call ended. Clint and I pulled back and smiled at each other.

Time to enact our revenge.

* * *

Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and her family.


	11. Cars, Cemeteries, and Movies

Chapter Eleven

Anna

After ending the call, I walk back into the living room and hand the phone to Uncle Phil.

I disconnect the empty chemo bag and put everything away.

Everyone but Tony leaves.

He just sits, taking in everything. I interrupt his thoughts.

"Uncle Tony, I want to visit my parents to say goodbye. Can you take me?"

"Sure thing." He stands up, and I take his hand and head towards the garage.

"Which car are we taking?" He asks; I don't which to choose.

He had beautiful cars, all colors, shapes, makes, and sizes.

I point to a black, sports car. It looks simple enough with a black exterior and red and gold interior.

"Good choice, that's an Aston Martin CC100. I had it custom built. In other words, really expensive but totally worth it."

We get in, and he steps on the gas.

"Can we get flowers first?" I ask.

"Sure, I know a place."

We pull up at a small florist shop, where I choose red roses for Lily, daffodils for Michael, and daisies for Mikey.

I have a note already written for each of them tucked in my back pocket.

When we arrive, Uncle Tony and I walk together to their plots.

My grandfather, Michael II, bought the plots for our family.

Uncle Tony stands back and lets me talk with them.

"Hi guys. I miss you. I have a new family now, but I promise not to forget you."

I start with my father's headstone.

"Hey Daddy, you said you'd never leave me. You've kept your promise. It's been a while since I saw you last. I really missed you today when I had to tell my story, and you weren't there to hold me or comfort me."

I stop and let a few tears lose.

"I brought you daffodils because they represent chivalry, which you taught me will never die so long as men respect themselves and their women. I love you."

I press a kiss to his headstone and move to Mom's.

"Mommy, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I know you forgive me, so I'll keep trying to move on. I know you feel bad about what happened after Daddy's death, but I want you to know that it's okay. These red roses symbolize unity of which ours has never ended. I love you."

I look up and smile at her before pressing a kiss to her headstone.

I move to a smaller headstone shaped like a heart.

"Mikey, I hope heaven is fun. You're lucky; you know, skipping the hard stuff and going straight on up. I brought these daisies because of your innocence in all of this. I guess there will always be innocent people that get stuck in the crossfire, but you never deserved any of this. I love you, brother."

I leave the notes by each respective grave and turn around to see a tear trickle down Uncle Tony's cheek.

I walk back to him and hug him tightly. He hugs back and picks me up.

When we get back to the tower, he carries me to his desk in his lab.

"This is where I built Iron Man. I also build other things like weapons." He gives me a small tour and explanation of what each thing does.

"Can you build me an Iron Man suit?"

"Yes, but no one can know. Pepper would have my neck for it, and your parents would murder me without hesitation."

His eyes swirl with excitement.

"That's fine with me. Can I help you?"

I've always wanted to use my brains for something

cool.

"Yeah, I'll need you for measurements anyways. Jarvis, destroy any evidence of this conversation forever and don't let anyone know about this or come down here when we're busy."

"Yes, sir."

We start out with making measurements and work from their. Eventually, I grow tired, so we stop for the day and make plans to work on it later.

Uncle Tony is a softy, too, and he lets me use my thirty-year-old mind around him without judging me for being so different.

It's already dinner time, so we head upstairs and meet everyone for Chinese takeout.

After dinner, Uncle Thor wants to watch a movie.

We bicker for fifteen minutes and decide on _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's_ _Stone_ because Uncle Thor, Uncle Steve and I have ever seen it before.

We all end up passed out on the couch afterwards, to tired to move. My head is resting on Aunt Pepper's lap, and Uncle Tony is on her other side. Uncle Thor is to my left, and Uncle Steve is to his left.

* * *

Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and her family.


	12. Home

Chapter Twelve

Clint

Natasha and I dress a little different this morning.

I put on khaki slacks and a blue dress shirt with a brown sports jacket, and she dresses in heels, black slacks, and a white shirt.

We both clip on fake federal ID badges and drive to the new lab.

Once there, I speak to one of the guards in French.

"Excuse me, sir, but we are from the Department of Territorial Safety/Security. We need to speak with whoever's in charge here."

"One moment, sir."

The guard talks under his breathe on an earpiece, asking whether or not to let us in. After a minute of conversation, he turns and unlocks the gate.

"Once you are in the building, go down the second hallway on the right, take another right, and he should be waiting for you."

At least we've gotten this far. The building is massive, but as we approach, the doors open.

I notice that there is no evidence that they house or test animals. They must've given it up or something.

We reach a big office with bay windows. An old man is sitting at the desk. When he sees us, he stands up and shakes our hands.

"I understand you were sent by the DTS."

"Yes, we are here to inspect the research taking place in this facility. We'd like to speak with you and your scientists about what it is you do here." I do my best to sound slightly angry and not shoot the man right now.

He must've caught on to my anger but misinterprets it as impatience because he quickly calls an emergency meeting. About thirteen men with lab coats walk in and sat down, looking a little nervous and confused.

I signal to Natasha. She nods and fourteen quiet pops place bullets straight through their heads. The scientists slump against their chairs, and we run out.

That was way too easy. I feel like we're missing something. Knowing us, we probably didn't. If we did, it will find us and then we'll kill whatever it is, no problem.

Switching to Russian, I shout, "We need to get out before the guards notice that something's wrong."

Too late, ar least five of them are on out heels.

"I saw an exit three doors down the hallway to the left." Natasha yells back.

We run down and quickly exit out. The guards have already noticed and are chasing after us.

I pull a grenade from my hidden stash, pull the pin, and toss it back.

That gives us about six minutes before more come out, and shots are whizzing over our heads.

Natasha requests for immediate extraction.

"The extraction point is three miles south of here!" She yells as the grenade explodes behind us. The bullets stop for just a second, and we take it.

We reach an empty field where a quinjet is waiting for us.

Natasha

Phil meets us on the quinjet.

"Good job Agents. We're sending backup to take out the rest of the lab right now."

Clint and I go take showers and eat lunch in a small back room.

As we eat, it suddenly hits me.

"We're parents; we have a kid."

I've been trying not to think about it, but now I can't. It feels daunting to be responsible for someone else's safety and well-being than your own, especially when you're an assassin.

"Yeah, we are. I think we can do it, Tasha. The rest of the team will be there to help." Clint sounds excited, but I'm too nervous to be excited.

"What if I mess up? I didn't exactly have a mother to learn from. What if she hates me?"

Around Clint, I can be vulnerable; anyone else, and they'd be dead in seconds.

"Nat, you know she doesn't hate you. I didn't have parents either, but we'll be fine. We're not supposed to be perfect parents; we just have to be there for her and love her."

Well, when you put it that way. Ugh, I really don't know what to do. There's no plan or mission. I don't want to let her down.

Phil pops in. "Agents, you ETA is 22:00 EST."

Anna

I wake up, make myself a bowl of cereal, and head upstairs for meditation.

I settle into a comfortable postion, but Uncle Thor's thunderous voice interrupts me from continuing with my routine.

"Friend Anna, what are you doing up here so early?" His voices echoes off the buildings around the tower.

"Watching the sunrise. You can watch with me." I offer; it's easier than the real explanation.

He takes a seat next to me.

"What is it like on Asgard?"

"Well, it is very different there. We run by magic not science, and we don't have the things you have like pop tarts or TV."

"Is it boring without all those things?"

"Not at all, we have duties to perform and things to do but still plenty of fun. Although, I do enjoy coming to Midgard and being with the Avengers and you. You make a good addition. Pardon me, but what is this Midgardian disease you have?"

Here goes nothing.

"Cancer is when the cells in your body mutate either because of radiation exposure or enviromental causes. The cells so fast that they destroy the healthy cells around them. What chemo does is target rapidly dividing cells and kill them, but hair and stomach cells grow fast, too. That's what causes me to loose my hair and get nauseous sometimes."

"Is it painful, the cancer?"

"Not really. I mainly feel the effects of the chemo more, but the tumor is wrapped around my spine and ribs, so sometimes it makes it hard for me to breathe. That's why I do meditation in the mornings. The doctors didn't think I could beat it, but I did. I can do it again."

"You are very strong to fight this with such optimism." He compliments.

Personally, I credit my survival to the people I was with. They taught me how to carry on and fight for a better tomorrow.

We stay outside for a while and come back in to play Crazy-Eights, which he has never played before.

After fifteen minutes of explanation, we play.

Ten rounds in, Uncle Bruce and Aunt Pepper interrupt us.

"Anna, baby, you have a radiation appointment in an thirty minutes, so you need to get ready and dressed to go." Aunt Pepper reminds me.

"Okay, I'll be ready in five minutes."

I change from my pajamas into sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a white, fleece coat because it's cold in the hospital.

"Aunt Pepper will be taking you because I have paper work to fill out." Uncle Bruce tells me. Aunt Pepper takes my hand and leads me to the car.

We arrive at the hospital early, so I go to my old room. It still has all my pictures up. Aunt Pepper and I play chess until my radiologist comes.

I win three out of five rounds.

Radiation lasts about an hour; during which, I fall asleep.

I guess Aunt Pepper carried me to the car and into the tower because I wake up on the couch.

"Hey there, sleepyhead. It's getting kind of late. Do want some lunch?" Uncle Tony is sitting next to me, watching some movie premiere.

I sit up and whisper in his ear.

"Can we work on the suit and have lunch?"

"Good idea." He whispers back. I race him to the lab, and he lets me win.

We work for two hours on my suit. All the parts fit; we just need to add weapons.

"What do you think, missiles, lasers, guns, knives, or all of the above?"

"All of the above, please." I smile at him; he smirks back.

"We'll have to add those later because it's dinner time."

Dinner is usual, except that Uncle Phil calls and says Mommy and Daddy will be home by ten. I make a banner, and Uncle Thor and Uncle Steve help me put it up. Then, we put balloons everywhere.

I snuggle against Uncle Thor's side as we watch Dumbo.

Saddest movie ever. It reminds me of me, but I don't cry. Uncle Bruce says I get that from my mom.

Natasha

We arrive at the tower thirty minutes past ten because of Fury's stupid paperwork.

When we arrive, there's a banner saying, "Welcome Home!" above the door, and balloons are scattered throughout the room.

"This is too cute." Clint whisper-yells from the living room.

I follow his voice to find the team and Anna asleep against each other. Thor's loud snores somehow managing not to wake her up as she is curled into his side. She looks worn out but happy.

Clint goes to raid the fridge. While I crouch down to be eye level with Anna. I shake her shoulders a little, and her blue-gray eyes slowly blink open.

When she realizes who I am, a huge smile spreads across her face, showing her white teeth.

That's a good sign. Her smile calms most of my fears and melts my heart.

"Mommy, you're back!" Her voice is filled with sleepiness and love.

She stretches out her arms towards me, and I gently pry her out of Thor's grip.

She wraps her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist like a monkey. I kiss her head as she rests it against my shoulder.

She feels like less than forty pounds, which worries me a little.

Clint meets us, and we walk to our room.

By the time we get there, she's fast asleep.

"Seems like she's had a busy day." Clint comments.

"Yeah, Phil said she had a radiation treatment this afternoon; it probably wore her out."

We decide to let her sleep in between us. She's curled against my chest, and her back is against Clint's chest. I look up at Clint and smile.

We finally have a family.

* * *

Sappy ending, hey, it was bound to happen sometime. ;) Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and her family.


	13. Revelations

Chapter Thirteen

I feel squirming beside me and open my eyes. Anna is having a nightmare. She starts to whimper and tears stream down her face.

"I didn't mean to. Please, stop. He didn't do anything."

Her pleas break my heart. No child should have nightmares like this.

"Honey, wake up. It's okay, Mommy's here." I cradle her against my chest and wipe her tears. Her whimpers grow quiet, and she opens her eyes

"Mommy?" She looks around frantically until her eyes catch mine.

"I'm here; you're okay. It's alright."

She buries her face into my shoulder and sobs. I rub her back as she explains.

"I have this nightmare a lot. It's the one where they kill Aiden because he helped and protected me. They killed by using archaic forms of torture like a ball and chain, and I have to watch in the same room. His blood splatters all over me and his screams never fade." She shudders against me.

"That wasn't your fault. He chose to help you, and if he hadn't, you wouldn't be here."

Innocent blood is always spilled, reddening anyone's ledger, especially mine. I wish she didn't have to learn it this way.

She snuggles against me before falling asleep.

In the morning, the bed only contains Clint and I.

"Clint! Where is Anna?"

"Huh? What do mean she's..." He looks around the room in a panic.

We sprint straight to the living room.

"Thor, Anna's missing! Do you have any idea where she might be?!" Thor is the only one in there, though, and he seems unfazed by our frantic movements.

"Friend Anna is probably on the roof top. She goes up there every morning to meditate." Thor calmly states.

We look at each other and go straight to the roof.

Anna is sitting on a mat, eyes closed and breathing deeply.

"Next time, tell us where you are going or tell Jarvis!" Clint yells at her.

She jumps a little and looks at up at us sheepishly.

"Sorry, this is just my usual routine. The doctors say it's good for my heart, so I come up here every morning."

"It's okay. Just tell us when you go somewhere without us, alright?"

"Okay, I will."

We walk over and sit on either side of her, catching our breathe.

The sunrise looks beautiful, and rays reflect off the buildings.

Anna crawls into Clint's lap and leans back against his chest.

"When I first got adopted, I was afraid. I thought they wanted me because I was so smart or because I was needy. They proved to me that they wanted me because they loved me, and they were scared, made a pact to share whenever we got scared or oeverwhelmed. I just want you to know that it's okay to be afraid about all of this. I know I am. In the mornings, the sunrise reminds me that there's no need to be afraid, just to keep moving forward."

Even if she has the mind and maturity of a thirty-year-old, she still only looks seven-year-old. Actually, more like five-year-old because of side effects of the serum.

Clint whispers something into her ear, and she smiles up at him.

"We're going to have breakfast. Care to join us?" He offers.

I nod, and we head down to our kitchen, which is much more quiet than the big one.

Anna

"What are we doing today?" I ask as I eat my bowl of fruit and scrambled eggs.

I hope we get to spend some time together.

"We are going to Central Park for a walk and some lunch."

"Okay, so long as we don't go to the zoo."

I cannot stand to see animals in cages, no matter how "free" they are; I know they're not. Michael and Lily did, only once, and I flipped out, crying and yelling for them to be set free. They brought me to an art museum the next time.

"That's fine. Your daddy and I are going to go get a shower and get ready. We'll meet you in an hour and a half in the living room."

"Okay." I race off to find Uncle Tony.

I find him in his lab.

"Hey, heard you went MIA this morning. I'm surprised they send all of S.H.I.E.L.D. to find you. "

I laugh. "No, they just told me to tell someone before I run off."

"Good. Ready to add the finishing touches to your suit?"

"Yep, but I gotta be ready in an hour and a half to go to the park."

We add the final touches; well, he does. I'm not allowed to touch anything.

"Your suit is quite operational, Lady Anna." Uncle Tony does his best Emperor Palpatine impression.

"Don't tell anyone, but your suit is small enough to shrink down to the size of a bracelet, plus it's stylish. Here you go, take care of it." He slips it on my wrist.

It's heavy because it's so dense, and I have to hold my arm up at first.

"Right, it also has a gravity repulser, making it lighter." He turns it over and hits a minuscule button on the inside, making it feel weightless.

"Much better. Thanks for doing this, Uncle Tony." I hug him and head to the living room.

Mommy and Daddy are just entering the same time I am.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes, I've never been to a park before."

"Never. Even I've been to a park." Mommy looks surprised; I guess my childhood was a bit divergent from the norm.

"I was either too sick or too busy." I explain.

Central Park is huge! No wonder people get killed here, and no one finds their bodies till weeks later.

I walk holding both Mommy and Daddy's hands. Although, I have to wear my mask because the recent dose of chemo lowers my immune systems ability to fight.

We walk to Strawberry Field's and to the statues of Alice in Wonderland and Hans Christian Anderson, which I climb all over.

There's a homeless man playing a saxophone near the pond.

I stop and listen to him. When he's done, he looks directly at me and smiles.

"Thank you very much, darling. Not many listen."

"Thank you for making something to listen to." I reply in earnest. I tip him from a hidden stash of money I've carries with me ever since I was four, and we go look for a street vender for lunch.

Mommy and Daddy seem a little cautious about being out in public. They're both wearing casual faces, but on the inside they're analyzing everything as if it could attack us at the next second.

I pull them out of their planning for a second.

"Why are we here?"

With them, everything is bound to be more important and deeper than it seems.

"We are here to spend family time." Mom answers and swings our arms back and forth.

"No, why are we really here? It's quiet and somewhat secluded, so there must be some ulterior motive."

Caught them! A silent exchange happens, and Daddy explains.

"We want to know everything they did to you. Not for Fury or anyone else, we just want to know, if you're willing to tell us; we won't say a word to anyone."

They saw through my "confession". Of course, they did; they are trained killers and my parents.

"Fine, but after lunch, please."

I need time to let all the memories back in.

We eat hot dogs and walk to an empty bench a little ways off the path.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, and if you have to stop, then stop."

I nod and sit on Mommy's lap, facing Dad. I also take off my mask, so they can hear me better.

"Some of it was true. I was adopted by a fake couple and given to a lab for testing, and there were animals being tested there, too. Aiden was real and so were the tests. The truth is that they tortured us any chance they got. They wanted to 'analyze' our reactions before and after the serum. The worst abuse was the mental abuse; they wanted us to know that we were what they made us, not our own. They'd tell me I was nothing more than the animals or that I was so stupid only the serum could make me remotely normal. They convinced me that my identity was the serum inside me. For the longest time, I chose to believe their lies. Everyday was the same: wake up, eat whatever they give you, run until you pass out from exhaustion, wake up in time for tests/ torture, go to class, eat dinner, go to bed, and be ready for another day."

I pause to gather my thoughts as Mommy's grip on me tightens, and Daddy clenches his fists.

Natasha

I hold her closer, so she doesn't slip away. Clint looks ready to kill. Anna reaches her hand out on top of Clint's fist. He takes a breath and looks at her. She looks between us.

"Don't be mad. They already paid their debt." She tries to pacify our anger. She waits for minute and continues.

"I know you're still mad, but you probably need to hear this. When they found out the authorities were starting an investigation, they injected us with terminal illnesses, so we would be dead by the time the authorities could do something anything. When they injected me, they told me that it was because the serum was a failure, therefore I was a failure. They said I was a waste of their time, and I was going to pay for it by dying."

She stops and leans into me. I can feel her tears through my shirt. I kiss her head, murmuring words of comfort to her.

Inside, I want to scream. They convinced her that her life was worthwhile because of some serum and pull it right from under her! Then, they throw her away!

She pulls back with an emotionless expression. It reminds me so much of myself that I internally shudder.

"I don't believe them. I'm here for a purpose." She states and puts her mask back over her mouth and rests her head on my shoulder.

Clint and I stand up and walk home with her in my arms. We put her sleeping form in her bed and go to the gym.

I make a beeline for the punching bags, and Clint goes to the shooting range.

Eighteen bags later, he comes over and pulls me back.

"I need to clean your fists, and we need to talk."

We head back to our floor. He takes my hands in his soft, calloused ones and cleans them.

"Talk." He commands.

There's so much to say.

"I'm pissed, beyond pissed. I know this isn't the same as Red-Room, but that doesn't matter. That's my daughter! I'm supposed to protect her. She shouldn't go through hell like that." I hiss.

"I'm supposed to protect her, too. The physical also found that she was able to fight the cancer because of your enhancers in her. You were still keeping her safe." He points out.

"That isn't enough, Clint! We should've known! We could've done something to help her. Because of us, she also lost her family! If we had 't given her up, she wouldn't have had to watch her world crumble, twice!"

Guilt washes over me like a tsunami, never letting me up to breathe.

"We didn't know this was going to happen. That doesn't justify it, but it does mean we aren't guilty. She doesn't hold it against us. She's my little girl; I'm supposed to keep her from danger, but she doesn't hang it over my head or yours." Clint forces me to look into his eyes.

"She loves us, no matter what."

"What about when she learns about our past?! Huh, what about that?! Oh, by the way, we've killed more people than you could imagine, including children and infants."

How can she love me when I can't look myself in the mirror?

"I don't know how she'll react, but we'll be okay." He pulls me against his chest, and we stay like that on the couch until it's time for dinner with the rest of the team.

* * *

Longest chapter ever! To those of you with suggestions, thanks, hopefully I cleared things up a little. Like I said, whether you review or not is up to you. Enjoy! -A.

Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.


	14. A Simple Request

NOTE: Just hope you're enjoying! ;) -A.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Anna

I wake up, and I'm in my room. They must've carried me. The clock says 6:00 p.m., dinner time.

I walk down the hall and find Mommy and Daddy asleep against each other.

I grab my camera and take a picture. Then, I wake them up.

"It's time for dinner."

They wake up, and we go to the big kitchen.

Dinner is fun. We teach Uncle Thor how to eat his spaghetti. He chooses my way and wraps the entire plate of noodles on his fork and shoves it into his mouth as loud as he can.

After dinner, we talk about my parents resent mission because everyone's curious to know about it, including me.

"When we got to the old lab, it looked like nothing really changed; everything just decayed as time went on." Daddy starts off.

"Anna, if you don't mind, what was the lab like before you left?" Uncle Tony uncharacteristically asks politely.

"The main hallway was were they stored us, the examination rooms, class rooms, and rooms for analyzing data. The animals and I were in the first four rooms off to the left. The rooms parallel to us were examination rooms or class rooms. The other hallways were for holding and testing serums. They had one room for medical examinations. None of us ever felt safe; that's why I didn't mind the Marine base enviroment because I knew I was safe. Although, I liked the classes. They taught me everything from world history to stoichiometry."

I try to end on a happier note.

Everyone seems to pick up on the mood, and the atmosphere lightens a bit.

"At least you found something good out of it, Anna." Uncle Steve compliments as I blush and look down to hide it. Dad starts again to take the attention off me.

"Because of Anna's help, finding a way into the new lab, the mission became much easier. We shot bullets straight through everyone of the men's skulls and ran straight to the extraction point."

I decide to put my awesome idea out for discussion.

"That sounds so cool. Can I join S.H.I.E.L.D., not now but after the chemo's done. I'd be perfect, small and innocent-looking; no one would suspect me. I wouldn't go on missions by myself; I could go with one of you guys. Please, think about?" I start to stumble over my words, so I stop.

I look around to gage everyone's reactions. Mom and Dad's faces don't give anything away, typical. Uncle Steve looks apprehensive about the idea but not opposed it, and Uncle Bruce looks about the same. Aunt Pepper looks nervous. Uncle Thor and Uncle Tony look ecstatic with big, goofy grins.

"Maybe, but not until you're eighteen." Dad consents, glancing at Mom.

"Come on, Katniss, I'm not going to let my favorite niece get hurt. Wouldn't it be cool to see her out there, taking out bad guys like you two?

Mom gets angry at this, and she stands up and walks out.

I immediately ask Daddy if I can talk with her. He tells me that she's probably in the gym and to be careful.

"Mommy, I'm sorry. I didn't ask before tonight. I just kind of figured since everyone here is an agent, maybe I could be one and help out."

She is in the gym, and eleven bags are on the other side of the room. I wait on the other side, so she doesn't accidentally hit me or something.

She turns around, and her knuckles are bleeding. I slowly step forward and take her hands in mine.

"Anna, I'm not mad at you. I'm not a fan of this at all, but please, hear me out, first."

I figured this would happen; I try not to let the disappointment overwhelm me. Tears are in my eyes. I look down at our hands and let a sob shake through me.

"It's okay." I try to laugh a little, but it sounds more like I'm choking, which I kind of am.

Mommy lifts me up to her hip and carries me to the roof.

"I want to tell you about me. I was born in Russia. In Russia, children were stolen from their homes and trained to do Russia's dirty work in the Red Room. When I was a young girl, I don't remember how old, my parents were killed in a fire, and a man took me to the Red Room. There, they tortured us into submission and loyalty to Russia; we had to kill our friends as a part of tge program. We also killed Russia's enemies and went on missions to gather information, using whatever methods to get what they wanted. I excelled at my job and became the standard for the program. I also became a target to many people and organizations; people wanted me dead. When Clint was sent to kill me, he made a different call and chose to save me. He brought me to S.H.I.E.L.D. We got married a little before I joined, and a year later, I had you. Anna, I know working here is different than the Red Room, but you still have to grow up, physically. I love you so much; I can't lose you again."

I don't know what to say, so I wrap my arms around her neck, and she wraps hers around my tummy.

We watch New York City until the sun starts to set, and I start to yawn. She takes us inside. Everyone has dispersed, and Daddy is waiting for us on our floor.

"Hey, are you two alright?" He appears tired but concerned.

"We're great."

* * *

Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.


	15. The Mission at Hand

Chapter Fifteen

Natasha

Clint and I tuck Anna into bed and go to our bedroom.

"I told her about my past." I say as we get comfortable under the sheets.

"How did she take it?"

"Good, I think. She didn't say anything; we just sat and watched the sunset."

I really hope she doesn't think less of me for my past.

"I'm sure she understands." I rest my head against Clint's shoulder.

We spend the next couple days having fun with the team. I spend every morning with Anna on the roof, watching the sunrise. We go to museums, usually art museums for Anna or the park. The team really seems to like Anna; I usually find her hanging out with one of them, playing a game, exercising, or talking.

Clint and I spoke with the team and Fury, privately about Anna's request and our answer. They agreed with us and promised not to bring it up.

On Tuesday, Anna takes us to see her old family. She introduces us and takes time to leave flowers and a note. It hits me how much she's lost, yet she refuses to give in. She keeps getting up and going like nothing's wrong.

Today, she has an appointment for radiation therapy at ten o'clock. We check in early and wait in her room.

"Mommy, only two more after this, then I'm done." She skips around the room, a smile gracing her face.

I can't help but smile back at her.

"Do you think my hair will grow back curly? Last time it stayed the same, but you never know. It isn't that important, but it'd still be cool if it did."

"We'll have to wait and see."

The doctor arrives and talks with us.

"I understand this is your first time, Mr, and Mrs. Barton. This usually takes an hour. Anna falls asleep about fifteen minutes in. I would, however, advise that she not sleep more than two hours during the day to keep her sleeping through the night, so she can do her growing. She is much smaller than girls her age. We assume that it's because of the serum, but we still want her to get as tall as she can. "

I know it's most likely because of my enhancers but explaining that to them would be too complicated.

She is sound asleep when the treatment is done. Clint carries her out to the car.

When we get back, everyone seems to know to be out of the way, so the living room is empty. I lay her down on the couch and watch TV until she wakes up.

Her eyes open and meet mine.

"Hey there, how are you feeling?"

"Good, just a little tired. Can we go down to the gym?"

"Sure." I take her hand as we make our way to the elevator.

Once we get there, she sits and watches me practice hand-to-hand with one of the practice dummies.

"Mommy, the other day, when you told me about your past, I don't think you're a bad person. You did what you had to do to survive. I'll always love you, no matter what you do." She promises me.

I stay turned around, so she can't see the tears, trickling down my face. It's like she can read my mind sometimes. I catch my breath and face her.

"I love you, too, honey." My voice is full of conviction.

"I know, Mommy. When we're done, can we go to the roof?" She smiles reassuringly at me. Her smile floods my heart with love; a feeling very few people make me feel.

"Sure, I'm ready to go."

Anna

I sit in Mommy's lap and watch New York City with it's tourists, cabs, busy people, and bright lights, honking and yelling in a distance.

My mission is slowly progressing, and I really hope everyone knows how much I love them because I'm not sure how else to teach them love.

I can tell they have trouble seeing past their faults, but that isn't what defines them.

Uncle Tony secretly cries sometimes in his lab when he gets really drunk.I snuck in a few nights ago and saw him. He didn't really remember, but I sat and listened to him until he passed out.

Uncle Bruce thinks he's a monster, and it shreds him I feel angry or sad, I talk with him, so I can calm down. I hope he feels better about who he is.

Uncle Steve is so alone because everyone he's ever known is dead. I join him when he practices in the gym sometimes. He makes tea for me when my stomach gets sick, and I can't eat. We just sit in silence or talk about arbitrary topics. He and I connect through our both losing people we love.

Aunt Pepper just seems overworked. I come in and help her because the other two geniuses are busy. We sit and do paperwork for Stark Industries or S.H.I.E.L.D.

Uncle Thor is the only one I haven't spent enough time with to really know. He has family issues with his brother, Loki, but he's in jail. I play games with him whenever he comes, so we don't talk too much.

Daddy hides from us when he feels weak. I suppose that he's been stepped on too much of his life. After stumbling upon his nest while playing with Uncle Thor, I meet him up there a lot, and we talk or read books. Sometimes, we just sit, like Mommy and I do on the rooftop.

Mommy's demons are her past. She doesn't forgive herself for what she's done. I can't tell whether it's about killing people or leaving me or both. I tell her I don't hate her for her past but talking about how she left me is harder. Maybe because it's personal or because neither of us wants to talk about it, but she needs to know I forgive her. Dad does, too. I'll have to wait until we're all alone to broach the subject.

My mind returns to the present, and Mom is humming a beautiful tune.

"What are you humming?"

"An old, Russian lullaby. I think my mother sang it to me when I was little."

I nod and look at her watch. We're late for dinner. She notices my expression and explains, "We're eating out tonight, just you, me and Daddy. We're going to order in some pizza."

Dinner passes quickly, and I go to bed early because I have my next chemo treatment tomorrow.

"Goodnight, Mommy, I love you."

"Goodnight, honey, love you, too. See you in the morning."

"G'night, Daddy, love you."

"I love you, too, Anna. Get a good nights rest." I kiss both their cheeks and go to bed.

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.

NOTE: Hope you enjoyed it! :D -A.


	16. Cold Mornings and Parties

Chapter Sixteen

Natasha

The next morning, snow is falling. The past few mornings have been cold, but Anna and I keep warm under blankets.

"If you get too cold, we can go inside. Just let me know."

I don't want her getting sick.

"Don't worry; you keep me warm, but I'll let you know if I do."

Clint joins us and brings hot cocoa.

"Thought you ladies might like something to keep you warm." He hands us our cups

"Thanks, Daddy."

"Thank you, Clint."

The snow looks so graceful as it falls. Anna moves out of my lap and sits near the edge with her blanket and hot cocoa.

She looks up, catching snowflakes on her tongue. She appears perfect in her sweater, scarf, hat, ear warmers and mittens with the snow falling around her small form.

A little while later, she gets up and heads inside. We follow her, and the team is waiting for her on the couch.

Pepper has a thick blanket in her hands. She drapes it over Anna after she takes off her shirt to clean out her line and start the chemotherapy. Bruce checks over her work and sets the box with the chemo bag on the stand.

Clint and I share a laugh at the box. It has "the Avengers" printed on the top with "Property of Anna" written under it.

Steve brings her some tea, and the team settles in next to her under blankets to watch movies.

I sit on her right, and Pepper on her left. Clint and Steve are to my right, and Tony and Bruce are to Pepper's left.

Two movies in, she looks a little pale, so I offer her the trashcan. She barfs up her breakfast, and Bruce hands her water. She takes slow slips and spits it into the trashcan.

We watch three more movies, and then eat Chinese takeout.

Anna falls asleep, so Bruce takes care of discarding the empty. chemo bag for her. She wakes up a little while later sick and falls back asleep in Steve's arms while Clint and I do paperwork at the office for Fury.

Two weeks later:

Anna

"No mo chemo!" The nurses and doctors sing.

Finally, done with cancer. I say goodbye to my nurses and doctors.

"Don't ever come back again! Just kidding, you can come back but only to visit us." One of my nurses jokes.

"Now, you will have to come in once every month for the next two years, but other than that, you're all clear."

"Thank you, Dr. Smith!" I hug her and wave goodbye to everyone.

On the way home, Mommy gives me a wrapped box.

"You can open it now; it's from the both of us."

It's a S.H.I.E.L.D. earpiece.

"Even if you're not in the field, we still want to communicate with you just incase something happens.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!" I scream like the seven-year-old that I am.

When we get back, everyone is gathered for a party, even Uncle Phil, Fury, and Maria Hill.

"You did it! You kicked cancer's butt!" Uncle Tony and I happy dance around the room.

Aunt Pepper comes out with a cake that says "Congratulations, Anna! We love you!"

"Thank you to everyone here! I'm so excited to be an honorary member of the Avengers and not have cancer." Fury agreed to let me be a part of the Avengers, but the only enemy I get to fight is cancer. The battle is won.

Everyone claps, and we begin to dig into the cake. It's my favorite, red velvet.

"Present time!" Uncle Tony sings.

I sit in the middle of the couch, and Daddy hands me presents. Mommy is taking pictures until Pepper makes her join us.

I get a chemistry set from Uncle Bruce.

"Thanks, Uncle Bruce, you can help me learn how to use it." He laughs a little.

Uncle Thor gives me a bracelet made on Asgard. It has charms on it, representing each of the Avengers, Aunt Pepper, and Fury.

"I love it! Thank you."

"Not a problem, Friend Anna. I am happy you like it."

Uncle Steve gives me my own tea cup with "Property of Anna" carved into the side and a fused glass angel on the other side.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Steve. I'll treasure it always!" He laughs and hugs me.

Uncle Phil hands me a book filled with pictures from my parents' past.

"This is awesome! Thanks, Uncle Phil." I put it aside to look at later.

Uncle Tony gives me a card that lets me know my real gift is elsewhere and to just smile and thank him, which I promptly do.

Aunt Pepper offers to take me shopping for new clothes for when I start going on missions and need to stay undercover.

Finally, Fury hands me a box with a notecard on it.

_Anna,_

_Welcome to the Avengers. I understand you are very disappointed to not be an agent, but know that we are only looking out for you. Although, I have arranged for you to go through a training class to see what it's like being a beginning agent. I know you have great potential._

_-Fury_

Luckily, I opened this in my room because I'm not sure if Mommy would approve of my going to classes.

Mom comes in and reminds me to get ready for dinner. Thankfully, I had put away what I was working on.

We have dinner at a fancy restaurant that Uncle Tony reserved up for us. I eat lobster for the first time. We stay for almost two hours, so when we get home, I go straight to bed.

At four in the morning, I wake up from a nightmare about one of my days at the lab. I walk down to Mom and Dad's room and knock. After a second, they tell me to come in.

I crawl in between them.

"I had a nightmare. It was really bad. Can I sleep with you?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Do you want to talk about?" Mommy asks as she pulls back the covers and lets me in.

I shake my head and cuddle up against her.

"If you need us, we'll be right here."

She presses a kiss to my head holds me close.

Natasha

Thanksgiving is coming up. Anna was too sick to go out for Halloween, so Pepper is planning a big party and a feast.

"Mommy, what's it like, being an assassin?" Anna asks as we sit bundled up on the roof.

I think about what to say. I don't want to scare her too much, but I can't lie to her, either.

"It's difficult work. You train for almost every situation possible, but things can still take you by surprise. You're forced to see the terrible side of humanity; the people that live for themselves and what they can gain by any means possible. You're also away for long periods of time, sometimes by yourself."

"I think I've seen some of that side before. When I go, I'll be sure to bring along someone."

Her voice and face never show signs of fear, which reminds me that she is more grown up than I'd like her to be.

"Yes, we'll come with you, or the team will go with you. You're not getting a solo mission, ever."

She chuckles and grins at me.

"I didn't think you would. I don't like being alone, anyways."

She sets her mug down and stands up.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing, just going inside. I promised Uncle Tony we'd hang out today."

I raise an eyebrow.

"Really?"

Her laugh fills the cold, winter air.

"Yes!" She picks up her mug and races inside, leaving me to my thoughts.

After a few minutes, Clint comes up and joins me.

"Hey, what's up!"

"Just thinking about our lives."

"What about our lives?"

"How lucky we are to have a family. To have each other and Anna and the team to call home. I don't deserve any of it."

I don't, not after all the egregious things I've done; the red staining my ledger.

He puts his arm over my shoulders.

"You deserve it, all of it. I know you don't think you do, but for once, you're wrong. Besides, you make a great wife, a fantastic mother, and a good friend."

I laugh and roll my eyes. He is so lucky I love him.

"You don't have to be so cheesy about it."

"Of course, I do. Who else is going to do it if I'm not? It's one of the reasons why you married me."

He has a smirk on his face, and I grin back.

Anna

"Uncle Tony, where are you?" I can hear him messing around with something, but I can't see him. He pops up right next to me.

"Right here. This, Anna, is your present."

He pulls out a small, snow-cone shaped device. He turns it on, and the display shows the time, our location, and nearest safe-house.

"I made it myself. It has an encrypted tracker that only I can read, so when you go on missions, I know where you are. It also has all of our numbers on there, and it's compatible with your earpiece. That way, you can call any of us from anywhere. Lastly, it has a distress signal. Even if the device breaks or is submerged under water, just hit the button on the backside, and we'll know where you are."

"Thanks, Uncle Tony. I won't tell anyone."

"Good. Come on, I want to show you something else."

We stay in the lab until Jarvis informs us that dinner is ready.

* * *

Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.


	17. Thanksgiving

Chapter Seventeen

I wake up and meet Mommy outside.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Mommy."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Anna."

I take my place in her lap, and we cover ourselves in blankets.

After Christmas is when my class is, but everyone found out and has been teaching me behind my parent's back. I wear my iron bracelet all the time, and Uncle Tony's taken me on secret test runs.

Last night, I slipped into Fury's office and hid a box in one of his drawers. It's much neater than I thought it would be.

"Excuse me, but Pepper has asked me to tell you to come inside. The party is about to begin."

Jarvis' voice breaks the silence, and we both head in.

"Have a most Happy Thanksgiving, Friend Anna!" Uncle Thor shouts at me from across the room. He's back here for the holidays because Asgard doesn't really celebrate them. A woman is standing next to him.

"Who is that, Uncle Thor?"

"This is Lady Jane. She is my significant other."

She's pretty with big, brown eyes and brown hair.

"Hi, I'm Anna. Should I call you Jane or Aunt Jane?"

"Hello, nice to meet you, Anna. You can call me either one."

"Aunt Jane, are you from Asgard, too? You're a lot smaller than Uncle Thor."

"Haha. No, I'm from Earth." Even her laugh is pretty.

Aunt Pepper waits for all of us to get situated and announces, "Now that introductions have been made, let's get the party started."

We start out by playing board games and transition to watching movies until dinner is ready.

Dinner is amazing. There's turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, carrots and rolls.

We go around the table and say what we're most thankful for.

Uncle Tony starts us off.

"I am most grateful for being a genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist." Aunt Pepper hits him, and he adds her to the list.

Aunt Pepper smirks.

"Well, I'm thankful for my family and Tony, too."

Uncle Thor declares, "I am most grateful for Lady Jane and the Avengers."

Aunt Jane chuckles, "I'm grateful to be here with all of you."

Uncle Bruce goes next.

"I'm grateful for the family I have here. You guys can be really, really annoying, but you put up with me, too."

"Uncle Bruce, we don't 'put up with you'. We love you." I grin at him as awwww's chorus around the dinner table.

"I know it's been said, but I'm most thankful for my family." Uncle Steve states, earnestly.

"I'm most grateful for Natasha, of course, and Anna coming into our lives."

"Thanks, Daddy," I blush a little.

"I'm most grateful for the Avengers and for my family. Anna, thank you for coming back into my life; I love you." Mommy kisses my nose, and the all the guys, except Daddy, stare at her like she's crazy. She glares at them, and they shut their mouths.

"I'm most grateful for Mommy, Daddy, no more cancer, being a part of the Avengers, and my hair growing back. Let's eat." I proceed to dig into my food.

After dinner, Aunt Pepper brings out the pumpkin pie and ice cream.

We take our plates and sit on the couch for one last movie.

"What are we watching?" I ask.

"You've never seen A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving?!" Uncle Tony gawks at me.

"She hasn't seen any Disney movies, except the ones we've shown her. Why would she have seen this?" Uncle Bruce defends me.

The movie is interesting. It's like the children rule the world because the adults just speak in "whah's" the entire time. I try stay awake, but start to fall asleep against Daddy's chest.

Natasha

I look over to see Anna passed out on Clint's lap. He looks up from his gaze on her and grins at me.

"She's had a long day."

"Hey, guys. Thanks for the party and dinner. We're going to put Anna to bed. Happy Thanksgiving."

We stand up and leave. Clint carries her to her room.

As I dress Anna into her pajamas, I notice all the scars she has. She has a scar where her Hickman line used to be on the right side of her chest, but the others are on her back. Some are very deep looking. Their are huge ones, running horizontally across her lower back and stomach. She also has faint scars on her legs and arms. In the darkness, I can barely make out letters and numbers burned into her left side, running from her shoulder blade to the top of her hip. The sequence is 09AHJ387TOX34; it's probably her identification code. The scars are thin and stretched, which means she got them very young.

Why did I never see that one before? All the times she took off her shirt, she must've turned, so no one could see them, but I still should've seen it.

I ask Clint about it.

"No, I've never noticed them."

"I'll try to ask her tomorrow."

I've seen the others, just never that close before.

Anna is already on the roof, waiting for me.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out here." She looks miserable with dark circles under her eyes.

"Oh, honey. Why didn't you tell us?"

"It's fine. I just couldn't get comfortable."

I pull her into my lap and rest her head against my chest.

"Try to sleep a little right now. Okay?"

"I'll try to."

After half an hour, she wakes back up.

"I feel better, now. Thanks."

"No problem." I decide to ask her now.

"Honey, last night I saw some of your scars while I was changing you into your pajamas. Can I ask you about them?"

She nods and takes a few breathes.

"You mean my i.d. code, the one on my left shoulder blade?"

She pulls back and gazes into my eyes. I nod.

"I got them after I received the serum. They wanted to mark me once I was injected incase it didn't work, or I was no longer needed. That's the only wound they ever gave me medical attention for, so it would scar properly."

She whispers quietly and let's the pain show on her face.

"Thank you for telling me. You're so brave."

I squeeze her, and she finally lets go for the second time I've been with her. I feel her hot tears through my shirt, and a protective feeling washes over my senses, making me growl. Her small hands clutch at the back of my shirt, abd I rub circles on her back. She starts to calm down and relaxes against me.

"I'm okay, now. Thanks, Mommy, for everything."

I hear the double-meaning in what ahe says but don't address it.

"You know I'm always here." I rake the soft, red hair that's growing on her head with my nails.

We decide to stay up there the rest of the day, and Clint brings us up our meals.

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.


	18. Checkups and Christmas

Chapter Eighteen

The tower is now decorated for Christmas. There are at least seven Christmas trees, one for each of us and for the living room. Even the roof has decorations; Anna put up Christmas lights on the railings.

It's still a few days away, and we have Anna's first monthly checkup.

"Tasha, there's no need to be worried; she's perfectly healthy."

Somehow, he's always been able to tell when I'm nervous.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mom." Anna catches us off guard and is already sitting on the bed in between us.

"Where'd you learn to be so stealthy?" I ask with a serious face.

Anna just giggles, "I learned it from you and Daddy."

Her stomach grumbles, so we get up and have breakfast.

The ride to the hospital doesn't help my nerves.

"It'll be fine; please stop worrying." The voice Anna is using reminds me of when we first met. I turn around and face her.

"Anna, I can't promise you that I won't worry, but you don't have to be the strong one. I'm an assassin, remember, nothing scares us away." She nods absentmindedly and stares out the window.

"I know you won't leave me." She states confidently. Clint and I glance at each other, and he grins.

When we reach the hospital, they take her back for a series of tests. We join her for the blood tests.

She looks at the needle; her face is emotionless. I sit by her and take her other hand. They finish and tell us to wait while the doctor looks over everything.

Clint sits on her other side, and she leans against him, still holding my hand.

The doctor finally walks in.

"Hey, Anna and family. Why don't you follow me into my office?"

We get up and follow her.

"You are still cancer free, Anna, but I'd like it if you looked over your results. As you know, your serum changes with you. What we cab gather is your serum has changed. We have no clue how much because we aren't allowed to test it any further."

Thanks to Fury, no on can, except the Avenger's scientists.

"Your scans are all clear, so I'll see you next month."

Anna hugs her and turns around to take each of our hands.

"Told you not to worry." Clint teases on the ride home.

"Anna, when did you become more mature than you're father." I smirk at him.

"Hey, I am way more mature than our daughter."

"You just keep thinking that, Barton." I pat his shoulder, and he frowns.

Anna

At the tower, I get two Christmases. One with my immediate family and one with the team.

My present to Daddy is something Uncle Tony and I worked on, new arrows made of different materials and different heads. Some of them throw small pieces of shrapnel everywhere, and others have tiny cameras that are connected to S.H.I.E.L.D. surveillance booths.

Mommy's present is harder to come up with, but Aunt Pepper and Uncle Steve help me. I'm giving her a locket with pictures of me and Daddy and a note inside it, which was Pepper's idea. Uncle Steve helped me carve a picture frame that says "Mommy and Me" and paint it. I put a photo from the first time we sat on the roof and write on the back "There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope. - B. Williams".

"Wake up! It's Christmas!" I run down the hall screaming.

"We're up! Just give us a second." Mom's voice comes from their room.

I sit and look at the tree all lit up.

Mommy walks in followed by Daddy.

"Breakfast first, then presents."

I give them my already-made bowls of cereal.

We eat and admire the tree.

Once finished, I take their bowls to the sink.

"Now you can start." Dad instructs me.

I place my gifts in their laps.

After Daddy opens his, he almost starts to drool. I had also labeled what each arrow/ arrowhead could do.

"Uncle Tony helped me design and make them."

"Thank you, Anna. These are awesome."

Mommy opens her gifts. She opens the locket and reads the note.

"Aunt Pepper helped me choose that one."

"It beautiful, honey. Thank you." She pulls me into a hug.

I hand her the next gift.

Her eyes get wide as she looks at frame.

"It's Basswood. Uncle Steve helped me hand carve it."

"This obviously took you a long time. It's so gorgeous."

I get a crossbow/ arrowhead set from Dad and a stuffed teddybear from Mom, which seems a little weird. On further inspection, the bear has several daggers and a semi-automatic hand gun stored in the stuffing. I laugh and slip in something else.

We head to the living room for more festivities and presents.

"Okay, everyone's here. Let's open presents." Uncle Tony shouts.

I hand out my presents to everyone, and as I give them theirs, they hand me a gift.

I give Uncle Thor a gift card to Serendipity 3 on E 60th St. If he likes sweets, he's going to love it their. He looks confused until we explain what it is.

"I shall most surely enjoy this, Friend Anna."

Uncle Bruce gets a new lab coat that is made from the same material as his shorts; it also has Dr. Banner stitched into the pocket.

He laughs a little and slip it on.

Uncle Steve gets some army memorabilia I have from my days at the base and stuff I convinced Sgt. T to get for me, like old pictures from his unit, an original uniform and other stuff I fit into an ugly, green army bag. He has tears in his eyes and asks me how I got this stuff. I just say I have connections.

Uncle Tony gets a vial of my blood because he asked to experiment with the serum and to see everyone's reactions. My parents look annoyed, and Aunt Pepper gives him a hard time.

I give Aunt Pepper a new Louis Vuitton that Uncle Tony and I tweaked to hold more stuff and take Jarvis along inside. She thanks me.

Fury receives my letter and raises an eyebrow before cracking a smile.

I get clothes from Aunt Pepper, sun glasses connected to wifi from Uncle Tony, drawings of the team and me from Uncle Steve, a training schedule from Fury, special arrow heads for my crossbow from Uncle Bruce, and bejeweled dagger from Uncle Thor.

All in all, Christmas is amazing. We go outside and have a snowball fight and come in for hot cocoa and movies.

Fury's plan to let me attend training class as compensation for not becoming an agent begins in four days.

Why not? I'm the kid of the two best killers ever; I'm going to have to start training sometime to protect myself. Plus, who doesn't want to see noobs get put in their place by the most intimidating people on the planet?

My parents don't want me to go, but Fury insists on it. I think he thinks it's going to be funny, watching my parents beat the crap out of new recruits if they try to taunt me.

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.


	19. Training Class

Chapter Nineteen

Natasha

Christmas and New Year's have come and gone. Today is Anna's day of Fury-enforced training.

I drop Anna off at her classes and glare daggers at every other agent in the room before kissing her cheek and leaving.

If I hear one word that they mistreated her, they'll have to answer to me.

Clint and I are watching everything with Fury in his office.

A blonde woman is sitting next to her.

"So, you're Black Widow and Hawkeye's kid. That's cool." Her voice is dripping in insincerity.

Anna picks up on it and gives her a curt nod.

"What's it like, living with them? Do they torture you?" A guy calls out from the back of the classroom.

I start to get up, but Clint holds me back.

"Wait. See how she responds first."

I sit back down, but my gun is half way out.

"No, why would they hurt me?" She asks, putting on her sweat, innocent voice. I smile; she's good.

"Because that's what they do. Are you sure that's not where the scars on your arms and legs come from?" He tries to egg her on.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they haven't hurt me."

He's about to say something, but the instructor walks in.

"Welcome to training class 1.0. I know most of you are new to the world of agents." He winks at Anna.

Really, I'm about to storm in there and shoot them all.

"Today, we're covering basic skills, such as being undercover and what to do in combat situations."

"Now can anyone here speak more than three languages. This is vital to staying undercover and blending in."

Anna feebly raises her hand.

"Of course she does, prof. It's not even fair to have her here. She probably already knows it all."

"Yeah, why can't she be put in a higher class?" Someone else remarks.

"Class, settle down. Ms. Romanoff-Barton is here because Fury has asked her to be here."

The class goes on quietly with a few snide comments here and there. Anna just sits and pays attention, ignoring everyone else. Most of the material is common sense.

The second class is done. I come in and pick her up.

"Total MILF." One of the boys in the back comments to his friends.

"Excuse me. Do you want to repeat that?" Now I'm mad. With Anna still on my hip, I pin his neck against the wall.

"No, ma'am." He barely rasps out. I break a few ribs for good measure and leave.

"Does this mean I don't have to go back?" Anna asks when we get back to the tower.

"Yes, I am taking you out of there. Fury should've known they'd react like that."

She laughs, "I was waiting for you to barge in there and kill all of them."

"I still can." I mutter.

"No, I think we still need them to do the dirty work like cleaning the toilets." She giggles. I loosen up and laugh with her.

No matter how mad I get, she always calms me down and makes me see clearly.

Fury punishes the class for making fun of his favorite Avenger, and we catch the team res handed, teaching Anna about killing people. Normally, Anna obeys the parameters we've set up, so it's hard having to punish her. After being grounded from everything for two days, we let up on her and let the others resume teaching her. It surprises me that even Steve was in on the plan.

Anna

I have so much fun, learning from everybody and listening to funny stories.

We've all bonded really close; although, my mom is still my favorite. She's probably already figured it out or maybe not; I've tried to be inconspicuous about it.

I learn all about their lives and crazy adventures they've been on.

Daddy's an orphan, just like me and Mommy. Uncle Thor has lived for over a thousand years, but he still looks thirty or younger. Uncle Steve's friends are buried at a cemetery he visits regularly, and he let me join him once. When Uncle Bruce gets mad, sometimes he goes to the Sahara Desert, so he won't hurt people. Uncle Tony plays piano; he took me to a piano store when we were out driving and played the entire time. Aunt Pepper loves children but is too busy to have any, so she and I go to the park or play dress-up. Mommy and Daddy don't seem to mind my going off with any of them. Mommy and I recreate our childhood. Whn we get too bored with training, we'll go out, sometimes with Aunt Pepper, and play at the park or in the gym.

My last checkup was still cancer-free.

Uncle Tony has been messing around with my serum, and Uncle Bruce helps him.

"We think that the serum is... really complicated." Uncle Tony starts out semi-serious but ends up laughing.

"We have no clue because it's constantly changing and reacting as you grow. We injected your samples with all kinds viruses, bacterias and arbitrary chemicals, but it never reacted to them. You've clearly made it this far with it, so there isn't much else we need to do." Uncle Bruce clarifies.

I nod and head up to the roof to think.

I've always wondered what it was like to just be a child. Even with the attempts at a normal child, I can never truly be one because I don't think like one. My parents say that my birthday is in May. I'm going to be eight soon, and the serum is changing with me. My mind is maturing, but they say it might stop when I hit forty-seven. It's supposed to stay that way until I die, so I never loose my memories or brains. Even with all the extra help, my mind can't seem to understand the nature of the serum.

Fury found out about my training from another agent. He came and spoke with my parents. Even if I can't go on missions till I'm eighteen, I can continue training and be an agent, just not on active duty.

Mommy comes out of nowhere and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Do you think I'm ready for this?" When the time does come, I want to be ready.

"You are more than ready; I am so proud of you. You've really stitched this family close together."

She rubs my back. I put my elbows on the railings, and she copies me.

"Yeah, I love our family. We're crazy." I say, smiling at her.

"I love you."

"I know you do." I rest my head, which now has hair down to my shoulders, against her.

I haven't really done too much, but I'm tired.

"I'm going to bed. See you here in the morning."

I stand on my tippy toes to kiss her cheek.

She hugs me close and kisses the top of my head.

"Goodnight, darling."

I go straight to bed and fall asleep.

Natasha

"Hey, did she already go to bed?" Clint asks me when I reach our room.

"I think so." We check in on her; she's lightly snoring. Her small form is sprawled across the bed.

We head to our room and change.

"I think we've done a good job so far." Clint comments.

"I hope so. She seems to like it here."

We climb into bed. Although she won't be on any missions soon, we went on a short one before New Years. It was cold and boring; we gathered information and left to get back to Anna.

In the morning, I'm up early, so I go to the rooftop to wait. I get caught up in my thoughts.

I don't notice how much time passes until I look up and see the sun, rising over the tops of the buildings.

Where is Anna? She probably slept in. Though, it's unlikely.

I head back to our floor and check in her room.

I let out a shriek. It's a mess, and there's blood on the bed and carpet. I tear apart the room, but she's not there.

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.

NOTE: Cliffhanger! Hopefully, you're enjoying it so far. :) -A.


	20. Lost

NOTE: Sorry it took so long; the editing process on this one took forever. Please enjoy! :) -A.

* * *

Chapter Twenty

"Clint, Anna's missing!" I scream frantically.

"What?!" He reaches the room and stares at the amount of disarray.

"We need to contact Fury and the team."

"I'll alert Jarvis. You see whose blood that is on the floor."

I walk over to her bed and start collecting blood. The blood is where her head should be. I force myself to stay calm and push everything down. I'm going to find her.

The team is already pacing around the living room. When Tony sees me, he gets everyone quiet and sitting.

"I had Jarvis pull up records from last night and found that her room's cameras were switched off remotely from 2:00-6:00 this morning. I also took the liberty of checking her earpiece and locator, which I gifted her before Thanksgiving. The signals say she's still in her room. Then, it dawned on my to check her wristband/ iron suit, but it says she's also in her room." He rambles for a good five minutes.

"Wait a minute, you made her a suit and then actually let her wear it!" I throw one of my hidden knives at him. He dives behind the couch.

"She asked to help me build it. How could I say no to spending quality time with her?" He shouts from behind the couch.

"Really, you could've just driven her around like you always do!" I yell back.

"This isn't helping anything!" Clint yells to get our attention.

"Agents, contain yourselves; we must stay on the task at hand." Fury walks in, and we move back to our seats.

"What are we supposed to do? We don't know anything, except that she's gone."

"We have checked security cameras here and in the city, all hotels in the state, airport surveillance, and nothing has been reported or seen out of the ordinary. Unless she can tell us where she is or someone tips us off, we won't even know where to begin searching." Fury sounds angrier than usual.

I turn my face into Clint's chest, and he wraps his arms around me.

Anna

"Wake up, child. We're here."

I open my eyes to find an enormous man with a scruffy face, starring at me. The air smells of blood and cigar smoke, and my head is killing me. I'm in a sitting position against the wall, facing this man.

"Anna, welcome to my new lab. I am Boris Salko, and I've known you since you were born."

I don't take my eyes off his.

"You see, I worked for Red Room before creating my own lab to find a neurologically-enhancing serum. Your mother was at Red Room when I was. Although, I left seven months before she defected."

I can't tell if he wants a reaction, but I'm not giving him one. I continue to stare blankly ahead.

"When I heard about you, I knew the potential would certainly be there. I also figured Natalia wouldn't want to keep you for her own reasons." His laugh is full of bitterness.

"After you caused the failure and destruction of my last two labs, I decided to you needed to relearn your place in this world. I have hired all new scientists and built this new lab, just for you." He smiles a yellow-toothed grin.

Then, he gets his stinky, cigar breathe out of my face and leaves. The room has no windows or furniture, just a door and a camera.

Time to plan my escape.

Natasha

"So, there's nothing we can do. That's just it; I leave my daughter wherever she is without thinking twice about looking for her."

Wherever she is, she's getting hurt or killed.

"Not nothing. We can begin by sending out agents to gather information and staying on guard for any hints, but like I said before, there's nothing we can really do at this point with so little information."

Fury calmly walks out.

I pull Clint down to the gym.

"We're sparring." I inform Clint as I throw the first punch. We spar for two hours, and I go take a shower.

After my shower, I go to my office because I can't bring myself to go to up on the roof or in her room.

I start looking on the internet for anything that could lead me to Anna. I keep looking for something but not finding anything. While I'm still searching, Bruce sends me verification that the blood is hers.

Clint joins me.

"Hey, it's dinner time. We're going to eat with the team."

He gently pries me away from my computer.

Dinner is silent and awkward. No one knows what to say because there isn't anything to say. Her spot next to me remains empty. After dinner, I say goodnight to and leave with Clint.

"We'll find her, Tasha. I promise, no matter how long it takes."

"I hope so."

My dreams are filled with her screams for help. She's shackled to an invisible floor with cuts all over her face and arms. She's reaching for me, but I can't reach her. It's too late, and she gets pulled back, leaving me alone in the darkness. Suddenly, Clint's in front of me, shaking me slightly.

"It's only a dream."

I shake my head furiously. "No, it isn't just a dream; she could be dead right now."

"Don't think about it. Just try to sleep. Do you want me to get her comforter?"

I nod feebly, and he goes to get the freshly-cleaned sheets off her bed. She sleeps in a full, so the comforter only fits on my side, which is fine with me. I wrap it around me; it still smells like her.

"Thanks," I mumble as I close my eyes and to sleep.

The next morning, I go up to the roof and stay until the sun rises over the buildings. The roof seems bigger and emptier without her.

Fury sent out a message to the troops Anna was stationed in France with to see if they could tell us anything about the lab.

The meeting with Sergeant T and some of his men is today at two this afternoon. Once they heard Anna was missing, they quickly responded and requested to meet as soon as possible.

Clint and I have to watch the interview from behind the double-sided glass because Fury thinks we might be recognized as her biological parents.

Sgt. T is a muscular, tall man with a hard face and short hair. The other men are just as muscular but much shorter.

"What can you tell us about the old lab?" Fury starts the interview.

"It was called the Laboratory of Neuroscience Advancement or L.o.N.A. for short. They were funded and owned privately. We couldn't find names of the investors, not even bank statements for the technology used or food for the animals. We assume they got all of equipment illegally, along with the animals."

"Alright, what about the inside of the lab?"

"The lab was kept beyond clean, every surface wiped down and the air filtered. The only dirt was in the kennels the animals and Anna were kept in. They were cleaned once a week, so they lived in their own mess. We aren't sure why, but we think it was to test the immune system's reaction to the serum or because the scientists were too lazy. Either way, life for them sucked." The man abruptly stops to keep himself from losing his cool.

"Thank you for your time. I wish I could tell you more about Anna's case, but it's classified. You cannot mention any of this to anyone."

"Not a problem. We won't tell as long as you find her."

Fury and Sgt. T shake hands, and they leave.

"That didn't really help at all." I comment to Fury.

We already knew everything they told us.

"It was worth a shot." Fury replies gruffly and returns to his office.

Anna

I must've fallen asleep in my cell because I don't remember how I got strapped on this table.

"I see your scars are still here." A tiny man with gloves and goggles turns me over and is looking at the i.d. code on my back.

Well, the scars didn't just hop off my skin and prance away.

"We are testing a new serum. You should notice the effects immediately."

He injects a clear liquid into my arm.

At first, everything feels normal, but then my whole body feels as if hundreds of thousands of volts of electricity is coursing through my veins.

The pain is so agonizing that I can't move or speak; all I can do is shake. Eventually, I feel my body go into shock, and blackness envelopes me.

* * *

Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.


	21. Far From Home

Chapter Twenty-One

Natasha

After the meeting, I go and watch the NYC skyline from our spot on the roof.

If someone had told me ten years ago that I's be married and have a kid, I would've laughed and snapped their neck.

When I had Anna, I knew I couldn't keep her. I was new to S.H.I.E.L.D., and my enemies were closing in. Clint and I drove to a far away orphanage to keep her as far away from danger.

_I don't know to handle a baby, so Clint stays with her, while I drive. We reach the orphanage, and Clint takes her inside. I move to the passengers side. _

_"She was still asleep. They look like nice people; I'm sure she'll be well taken care of." _

_"Good." I lean back against the car seat and fall asleep._

_When I wake up, we're home, and we go straight to bed._

Now, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get her back. She's been with us barely five months, and she's stolen our hearts.

"Hey, I brought you dinner; it's tomato soup and grilled cheese."

Clint hands me a tray.

"Thanks."

"I love you." He kisses my cheek and goes in.

"I love you, too." I pull him back and kiss him, passionately.

After a while, we split apart.

"I'll see you later."

"Okay."

Anna

Something's prodding my side. It's a boot. I'm outside, and snow surrounds me. I'm wearing a heavy coat, gloves, and boots.

The sun is hidden behind thick clouds.

"Anna, this is the real test. Run until you can't, or you sink in the snow."

I assume there's a tracking device on my or in me. As I regain feeling in my limbs, I feel the steel bracelet, tracking me and checking my vitals.

The man fires a gun, and I take off running.

The scenery is exactly the same, white. The deep snow makes it hard to pick up my feet from stride to stride.

I suppose they let me go because there's no place to escape to. The only marker of where you've been is your footprints. The sun isn't out, so there's no way of knowing north, west, south, or east.

I look behind me; my trail seems to be very stream lined, one foot in front of the other.

I start to break sweat with all my layers but taking them off is deadly in this climate.

My endurance seems longer because I haven't felt tired. Maybe, the serum is the cause. I continue running for at least an hour more before dropping to the snow. I hear the snow mobile after thirty minutes and get up to keep going. It's outrageously impromptu, but I decide to run and never stop, to escape.

It must be the serum that's giving me the energy. Although, I don't know if it wears off or not.

The snowmobile is still coming. I bet they thought I wouldn't run this long, or if I did, they could just shoot me down from their snow mobile. Perhaps, they knew the serum would give me strength, and they just didn't know how long it would last, or they want to play a cruel trick on me.

No matter what the rationale behind this is, I'm going to try my best to escape. First, I need this wristband off of me. It's dead bolted on, and needles are in my arm, reading my vital signs. I need something to hit this against.

I have an idea. At this point, I have nothing to lose.

The snowmobile finally catches up to my limp body. I get lifted to a spot on the back. There's only one mobile with two men, one driving and the other with a rifle. I slowly sit up and raise my wrist-banded arm up to strike a blow.

Crack! His skull makes a grotesque sound under my bracelet. One of the bolts is coming loose, but the driver is swerving, trying to throw me off. Another crack sounds from the man with the rifle as blood starts seeping from my wrist, where the needles were. I grab onto the man to throw him off, but his dead weight is too much. I catch the rifle as it falls from his hands and push him off the side with it.

Bang! The driver clutches his now bloody shoulder, and I shove both him off. Both men are alive but out of my way. Sound travels slower in colder weather, and it seems as though no one else has heard what's just happened.

My short arms have trouble reaching the handles, so I squat on my knees to reach them. I don't know where I'm going, if I have any provisions, or where I am, but I keep moving with the gun loosely strapped to my back.

I look for a compass; there is one. I'm headed east. Wherever it takes me, I'll go. This is when I appreciate the serums effects on my mind and all the training I've received.

Five hours pass, and I'm still in snow. The snowmobile needed gas, and luckily there was extra stored under the seat. I also found rope. My stomach is screaming for food, but I have to keep going. I'm hoping of finding some wildlife to eat. It's around noon, whatever day it is, when I finally see sunlight. There's a sign that points toward a small town. The sign is in Russian.

The snowmobile breaks down eighteen kilometers from the town. I need food. I notice red squirrels. I shoot three of them in the head and use the sharp studs on the bottom of the snowmobile to cut them open. They taste like beef.

I lay the snowmobile down on its side and curl my back against the seat to protect myself from the wind.

I eat the last of my squirrel from the night before and start running. I guess the serum's effectiveness is subjective because I feel less energetic.

I reach the town in about a hour and a half.

"Простите, но как далеко Москва отсюда?" ( Excuse me, but how far away is Moscow from here?) I ask one of the shop keepers.

"это более трех тысяч километров отсюда." (It's over three thousand kilometers away.)

Great, this could take a while.

"Вы знаете, как я мог туда попасть как можно скорее? есть ли полет или что-то еще?" ( Do you know how I could get there as soon as possible? Is there a flight or something?)

The lady shakes her head.

I ask for food in trade for the snow mobile. I get two loaves of bread, salami stick, and a sack. I thank her and leave.

I start walking. Moscow is about four thousand miles away from here. Lot's of time for thinking, but I also need to watch out. Boris will be on my track.

I need to stay off the main roads and move quickly.

I spend the night in a tree. My sack and gun are laying on my lap. I need a ride to Moscow, but I don't know who I can trust.

Fury

It's been three days since the meeting, and an agent runs into my office.

"Director, we've received a video from Russia."

"Well, play it."

A man appears on the screen. He's in a dark room, sitting on a chair.

"Natalia, I had the fortune of finding your daughter when she was just four months old. She was a wonderful test specimen, but she ultimately failed what we were looking for. I let her go, and you found her. Well, I have reclaimed her, but she had grown soft. After two days, she gave in. Of course, she did take two of my best men, but she paid for her transgression. Just incase, here's your proof."

The video cut into another scene.

She's in the snow; men are holding her down. A gun is pointed at her head, and it goes off. Blood starts to pour from Anna's chest cavity, and she slumps forward, dead.

The agent looks mortified.

"Give this to me. Make to copies and don't tell anyone. Understood?"

He nods and scurries out of the room.

Fifteen minutes later, I'm standing in Stark's living room. Everyone is looking at me, not knowing what to expect.

I tell Jarvis to play the video.

Natasha

My heart plummets as I recognize Boris Salko, an ex-guard of Red Room, appears on the screen.

Clint grips me close to him as the video progresses, and Boris goes on to reveal everything.

* * *

Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and family. The Russian is from google translate, sorry if there are any mistakes. Hope you enjoyed it! -A. :D


	22. Safe at Last

Sorry, these last few chapters have taken so long, editing and rewriting takes time. Any who, enjoy! -A.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Two

After the video is finished, everyone just stares ahead, not knowing how to respond.

All the air in my lungs has just left. I don't hear anything as Fury hands us a box. It's her chemo box. I force myself not to give away any emotion.

He takes out letters and passes them to the team. Then, he leaves.

Clint takes me back to our room.

I break down in his arms. My body is convulsing as sobs rip through me. I can feel his chest shaking against mine. The box has fourteen letters, seven for each of us. She wrote one for the day of, one week after, one month, six months, one year, five years, and ten years.

We slowly regain some composure and open our letters.

_Mommy, _

_If you're reading this, it means I'm no longer on this earth for whatever reason. First off, I just want you to know that I know you love me, and I love you. Just between you and me, you've always been my favorite. In my box is a stuffed beanie baby owl. If you want him, he's yours. His name is Bryan. I got him after my first night in the hospital. He's been with me ever since. Please, take good care of him. I love you!_

_Yours always,_

_Anna_

I look up, tears threatening to over flow. I find her owl, leaning against the side of her box. Clint looks up from his letter, pain evident in his eyes. I show him mine; he chuckles a little and handle me his.

_Daddy,_

_For whatever reason, I'm now dead, and this letter is in your hands. Daddy, I love you so much. We have fun in your nest, reading and playing tricks on Uncle Tony. You always play with me whenever I'm bored. You even let me use your bow and arrow, against Mom's rules. You're the best Daddy, ever. Thank you for loving Mommy and me._

_Love,_

_Anna_

We put our letters back with the others and climb into bed.

Why? Why her? My little girl, who I barely knew. She didn't deserve the life she got, but I suppose I don't deserve the life I got with Clint and Anna by my side. It's like my entire being has been run over and crushed.

Exhaustion takes over, and I cry myself to sleep.

Anna

I wake up to dogs barking at the base of my tree. Three St. Bernard's are giving all they got into trying to shake me down.

"Hey! Calm down!" A female voice yells in English. I drop out of the tree, landing easily on my feet.

"Hi." I give a slight smile.

"Hello, what are you doing out here?" The woman asks politely but curiosity is evident in her voice.

"I'm running away from bad people." No need to go into details with someone I don't know or trust.

"I see; why don't we walk, and you can tell me about it." She motions for me to join her. Like I said, nothing for me to loose. I join her.

"Who are you running from?"

"Salko, a man who runs the labs I was experimented in."

"Boris Salko is well known all over Russia. He has great political power and money at his disposal. I can imagine him doing such things." She states knowingly.

"Oh," is all I can think to say.

We reach her house. It's quaint but very modern looking. She offers me a shower and fresh clothes. I must smell terrible at this point. I take her offer but take everything I have in the bathroom with me.

After the shower, she serves me eggs.

"Thank you for being so kind, but I need to get to Moscow. Boris is probably hot on my trail."

"I understand. I happen to own a bi plane; it's really the only way to get anywhere fast. I can get you to Moscow."

"Thanks, again, but why help me? I have gun; I could shoot you and take your stuff."

She laughs.

"You haven't shot me yet, Anna. Yes, I know you or of you. I knew your mother since she joined Red Room. I was an older girl, but your mother soared through the ranks. She and I became friends because Red Room thought us too valuable to kill off. After she defected, I followed in her footsteps. Think of this as thanks for her inspiring me to leave them. Anyways, I heard about you when you were first found by Boris because he had asked for my help. I refused and ran here. Also, you look exactly like her, except for the eyes."

We fly eight and a half hours to Moscow. When I get to the airport, she gives me some Russian rubles, just incase.

"Thank you. I'll tell my mother you saved my life. By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Anna." Now I know who I'm named for; she must've been a good friend for my mother to name me after her.

"Thanks, Anna." I hug her.

After leaving the airport, I find a public pay phone and call Fury. It takes a while to get through, but I get in.

"This is Fury. Talk to me." He sounds drained.

"Fury, I need an extraction out of Moscow. Preferably soon because Salko is still on my trail."

"Anna?" His voice doesn't sound excited.

"Yeah, its me."

"Okay, we will have to fly there by plane because quinjets are too out-of-place there, so we should arrive in two days. Until then, there's a safe house near Koffeecake Corner on 1-ая Тверская-ямская, 4. Anna, it's good to hear from you."

I find the cafe/bakery; it's originally based in New York. I feel somewhat at home in there.

The safe house is more like an apartment. The passcode is long but easily memorized. There's a living space with a couch, kitchen, bathroom/shower, and door. I eat the sandwich I picked up from the cafe and sleep on the couch, facing the door with the rifle in my hands.

The next day, I spend in the apartment, watching the small TV. I don't leave to stay hidden. It's boring, but I like it. Fury should be here tomorrow.I sleep soundly, until my door is smashed at three in the morning. Immediately, I shoot at whatever's behind the door. Shots are returned, and I'm nicked on my right side. I press my legs against my chest to protect my vital organs. My amo is running low.

Boris walks in, grinning.

"Anna, you don't actually think Fury would listen to you. Do you?"

It was a trick, and I fell for it.

"Although, other Anna was an added bonus. Too bad she didn't know I was watching."

No one's coming; I'm still stuck. My heart drops, but I won't lose my determination.

I act as if my rifle is empty; then, I take my shot. Boris falls to the floor, bleeding out of his thigh. The five men who came in with him aren't dead, just incapacitated with bullets to their shoulders and knees. I wasn't trained for nothing. I take their amo and add it to my sack, along with the bread and meat.

I go to a cheap, family-run hotel. They don't seem to question my age or looks once I pay them. I apply pressure to my wound with one of the rags.

I get to my room and sleep till ten in the morning.

The same morning, I eat some of my bread and meat. Other Anna slipped some food and drink into my sack. There's water and snacks, plus some more money. I put the rifle in the shower to clean the blood and finger prints and put it back in my sack, using my coat. I wrap my side, but it keeps bleeding. The pain is now reduced to a throb in my side.

Now to find a pay phone. This time, I call Uncle Tony because he has an Iron suit that can bring me home faster than a plane.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Uncle Tony, I don't have much time, but I've escaped Salko. I'm in Moscow, Russia. Please pick me up." I say so fast I forget to add my name.

"Anna, but you're dead."

"Obviously, I'm not, and I need you, now."

"Anna! It's so good to hear you. We thought you were dead!" He sounds really excited and happy.

"That's great, Uncle Tony, but I gotta get out of here."

"Moscow, right. I'll be there fast as I can. Don't hang up." I hear scuffling and shouting.

"Who is this?!" My mother's voice sounds scratchy but extremely pissed.

"Mommy, it's okay. I'll explain as soon as I'm back in the USA. Please, hand the phone to Uncle Tony. I love you!" I ramble out of excitement. She doesn't say anything. There's more noises.

"Yes?"

"Uncle Tony, could you fly over here in your suit an get me?"

I suggest because it's much faster than taking a plane.

"Yeah, I'll be there in three hours. Stay put."

"I'm not sure if I have enough change for three hours."

"That's okay, just stay in the area."

I hang up and walk around. I give the money to a local church and walk back.

As I'm re-tying my bandage, an arm grabs me and pulls me into a hug. I wince a little but hug back, recognizing Uncle Tony's cologne. He suit back up.

"Uncle Tony, I missed you."

"Let's go home."

While we're flying, he notices the blood, staining my shirt.

"Hey, we're going to the hospital once we get back."

"Okay, but my parents better be there."

"How bad is it?"

"I think it's just a nick, but it's been bleeding for a day and a half.

"We'll find out soon."

He calls my parents and tells them to meet us at the S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital.

He flys straight in and takes off the suit.

"She's hurt on the right side."

The doctor takes me back and presses my side.

I howl in pain.

"Yeah, there's might be a bullet lodged in there. I'll let the OR know you're coming for exploratory surgery. You have fifteen minutes."

He walks out, and my parents walk in.

"Hey, what's up?" I grin.

Mommy looks me over to check if I'm really Anna. After a few seconds, her eyes widen, and she doesn't hesitate to crush me to her chest. I can feel her sobbing against me. It hurts my side a little, but I don't say anything.

Daddy joins our hug, so I'm surrounded by their embrace.

"I love you guys."

I pull back and kiss their cheeks.

"We love you, too."

They smile through their tears and kiss my cheeks.

"Excuse me, Anna needs to go into surgery now."

My father carries me to the OR with Mom at our side.

Natasha

Anna spends four hours in surgery; the have to remove a bullet. The team waits with us in a small room.

"Tony, how did she seem?"

"She seemed a little shaken up, possibly from the shot. I didn't really ask her anything beyond how bad her wound was."

The doctor comes and lets us know Anna is just fine, but he asks to speak with Clint and I in a back room.

"What is it?" Now, I'm getting nervous.

"The bullet was lodged near her right kidney; we had to remove the kidney because it was exposed too long and started decaying. She also experienced minor blood poisoning from the kidney, so she'll have to stay at least a week here. She's in room 517."

We walk in, and she's awake.

"Honey, how are you feeling?"

"I feel well. My side throbs, but I'm okay now."

"Good, you're going to have to be here for a week or so."

"That's fine. I'm just happy to be back."

I sit by her bed and hold her hand. Clint flanks her other side.

"I missed you." She squeezes our hands and smiles brightly.

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family, plus a few I'm too lazy to list.

NOTE: I have edited chapters 14 to this one to try and clear up some stuff, hopefully it's now up to par. Thanks for reading, like I've said, reviewing is up to your discretion, although I appreciate your kind words. -A. ;)


	23. Vacations and Interrogations

Chapter Twenty-Three

Anna

I stay in the hospital for a week, adjusting to life with only one kidney. It doesn't seem that difficult, but I do have a yearly checkup added on to my other ones. Plus, I have to wear special padding when I'm doing something that involves rough physical contact like combat training.

I sit on the roof and watch the sun slowly break the horizon. I can feel Mommy's presence behind me.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Anna."

She sits next to me, and I crawl into her lap.

We stay there until the sun is above the buildings.

Daddy meets us back on our floor, and we get ready to go to S.H.I.E.L.D. I have to tell them about what happened.

When we get there, Fury is waiting for us in an interrogation room.

"Anna, we need to know what happened, so we can find the people that did this to you."

I nod and take a seat next to Mom, grabbing her hand.

Two hours later, I'm finished. Although, my story may be missing a few pieces. I tell them enough to find the scientists back at the lab and where Salko' body is. Fury says he's going to send a team to bring his men here to receive to be interrogated.

When we get home, I go to Uncle Tony and ask for a ride. We zip in and out lanes until we're far away.

I step out of the car and walk the short distance to where the Crown's are buried. Even though we've been apart for a while, they're still with me, encouraging me to finish what I started. I'm not sure where the mission will take me next or when it'll be done, but I'll keep at for as long as I can. Uncle Tony and I sit under the shade of an oak tree for a little while and converse quietly. We stop for food on the way back.

We talk for a few hours and don't come back till four.

"Tony, did you think it might be wise to tell us that you and Anna were going for ride?" Aunt Pepper and my parents are waiting for us.

"I asked him for a ride; we just stopped to get food on the way back." I explain as I cross the room to my mother's arms.

"Try telling us next time."

She scolds, but I can tell she's worried.

When we get up to the roof, I tell her about where we went.

"It wasn't sad or anything. I just wanted to see them and take a ride in Uncle Tony's new Maserati; it was awesome." A grin spreads across my face at the memory.

"Anna, while you were out, your father and I had a conversation, and we were wondering if you'd like to go on a vacation, not for long. We thought it might be nice to get away for a little."

"Yeah, I'd like that. Where are going?"

"We thought Missouri. We have a cabin up in the Ozark's. We could leave as soon as tomorrow, if you'd like."

"That's fine by me."

We stay out long after the sun sets, and I start to drift off. Mommy carries me inside and lets me sleep with her and Daddy.

Natasha

I feel Anna start to shift in response to one her night-terrors. I quickly respond and shake her shoulder to wake her up.

Her breathing is ragged, and beads of sweat are forming on her forehead. I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her close. She clings on to me and falls back asleep.

The next day, we pack up and leave early. The Bruce, Tony, and Steve are leaving to get information from the Russian government about Salko's body's whereabouts and capture the men still at the lab.

Our flight is about a hour and a half give or take fifteen minutes.

Anna

When we get to our vacation house, I run inside and look around. There's four bedrooms, three bath, an office, kitchen, and two living spaces. One has wall-to-wall windows and a fireplace.

The view is amazing with the forests and hills covered in fresh snow. Although, the snow has a little different meaning to me.

It's nice to take my mind off things and relax. I catch myself, staring out at all the snow. Unrepressed memories flash before my eyes, and I'm taken back to them, reliving them.

I don't hear Mom or Dad come in, or when Mommy places a hand on my shoulder. It's like I'm out there again running around constantly looking over my shoulder. It must be hard living as an assassin with all the fear and paranoia of getting caught.

I guess I need this time to learn how to process the whole situation; I feel like I should be better. I've gone through worse, so why can't I let this go? It's infuriating and annoying, but I can't seem to shake it. I continue to stare out the window.

"Anna, honey, snap out it." Daddy bends down and puts his hands on my shoulders.

"Anna, it's okay. You're not there anymore."

I nod halfheartedly and wrap my arms around his neck. He pulls me close and picks me up.

"I'm so sorry," he repeats over as we move to sit on the couch; I can't seem to stop shaking in his arms. I can hear the pain and regret in his voice.

"I know you are, but it's not your fault; it's Salko's. You did nothing wrong."

He looks like he wants to protest but stops when he sees the look in my eyes.

"I love you guys, no matter what." I promise them.

"We love you, too."

I wrap an arm around Mom's neck and pull her in for a group hug.

Natasha

Anna and I spend mornings in the living next to the fireplace on the couch, watching the sun peak above the trees and reflect off the snow.

She's gotten better as the days have progressed. When asked about her namesake, I told her about how I met Anna in Red Room. She listened intently to the story and told me that other Anna's choice to save her was her thank you to me for inspiring her to leave.

Later, Clint joins us outside to make snowmen, which quickly escalates to a snow ball fight. Finally, we come in covered in snow and drink hot cocoa by the fireplace. It almost feels normal, like we're just a regular family having fun on vacation. I let myself believe that we're normal, even though we'll have to return to our real lives eventually.

I smile a little at the scene in front of me; Anna is adding whipped cream to her hot cocoa and "accidentally" sprays Clint, who immediately picks her up and spins her. Her soft, high pitched laugh juxtaposed to Clint's deep laugh sounds harmonious and perfect.

"Mommy, this time, can I tell the story?" It's my turn to say goodnight tonight; she's resting her head in my lap, pouting slightly up at me.

"That's fine."

"When I was living at the military base, I had to get used to a new lifestyle. I had chemo somedays, and others I would help out the staff. The men were very polite and protective of me. Most of them knew my background, so they claimed me as one of there own. I liked living with them because they could connect with me on my past; most of the older one had been POWS. When Lily came to be with my adopted father, Michael, the men realized I needed female influence because I had never had any. Lily took on the role as my new mother well and put up with the marines just to make sure I had a woman's influence. Eventually, I had to make a choice, stay with the marine base or leave with the Crown's. Either way, I knew I'd have to give up something I loved, so I told the men goodbye. I apologized so many times, but they shook their heads and said it was for the best. If I hadn't left, I wouldn't have met you or Daddy."

I listen to her story, picking up on the truth behind the message. The one topic we never really broached head-on, our leaving her. When we were just starting out, I could tell she was insecure about being with us, not knowing if we'd leave her again. This is her way of letting me know we're forgiven, and the past is forgotten.

I kiss her temple and whisper, "I'm happy I got to know you, too."

She mumbles, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, darling, I love you."

I tuck her in and turn off the lights.

"Love you, more." Her voice is sleep-filled but heartfelt.

The next four days, we spend skiing, sledding, snow shoeing, and playing out in the snow.

Anna

It's time to go home. Daddy carries me onto the airplane, and people are looking at us weird.

"Daddy, why are they staring at us?" I whisper.

"I don't know but stay close to me and Mommy."

I sit in between both of them. Daddy on the outside, and Mommy on the inside. I can feel people look between Mom and me as they pass. Daddy glares at them.

"Daddy, they aren't going to bite." I laugh a little.

"Clint, it's fine." Mommy adds.

"I just don't like all the looks and stares people are making at my family."

I unbuckle my seatbelt and move to sit in his lap.

"Don't worry. If they try something, they won't know what hit them." I whisper in his ear.

He chuckles as I pull out an Avengers coloring book and some crayons.

We sit and color for the rest of the flight mixed with light conversation. Mommy moves over to my seat and falls asleep against Dad's shoulder.

When we reach the tower, I head straight to my room to get something. Then, I find Mommy and Daddy in the living room.

"I'll be right back," I say as I walk out the door a smirk on my face.

Once I'm out, I climb into the ventilation system and silently make my way to their room. I replace the letters they had opened with new ones, and I leave something from our recent vacation. I take a detour on the way back and overhear Uncle Steve talking with Agent Hill over the phone.

"We just got back an hour ago. Yeah, they're in custody; they wouldn't let us have Salko. He had been buried two days before we got there. The rest of the men have yet to be interrogated. I think Fury wants Nat and Clint to do it. Okay, I'll let them know. Thanks, Maria."

Since when did he start calling her Maria? I raise an eyebrow and go back to our floor.

When I get back, Uncle Steve informs us of the men's arrest and asks us when we'd like to go in. Mommy and Daddy leave the room and come back after a minute.

"Now is fine."

They had gotten some of their hidden weapons from their hiding places.

The scientists are shackled in separate rooms.

Mommy asks me to stay with Fury and not leave until they come back.

Natasha

We leave Anna with Fury. There are only eight men left, so Clint and I split them.

I take the ones on the right; he takes the left.

I enter the first man's cell.

"You're Black Widow; Anna does look like you." He sneers at me.

I don't waste time to break his arm. He shrieks like a girl.

"What did you inject into her?" I ask.

"Does it matter? She's fine." Another arm snaps, and I go for a knee.

"I don't know. Salko made it himself and told us to give it to her. He never specified what it was or it's effects."

"Don't lie." I reply as his knee shatters between my hands. He screams but doesn't say anything. I shoot him point blank range in the chest, just above the diaphragm. He starts talking in a slurred, tired voice.

"It was a serum designed to reverse the previous brain-enhancing serum. It didn't work because the original serum was built with a failsafe. We aren't sure what that is, but it seemed very painful." As he speaks, blood pools at the corners of his mouth.

I leave him and make my way to the next man. None of them can hear what's happening outside their sound-proof cells, so hopefully this one will be honest or not. Either way, he's dead.

I walk in. The man is older, easier to break.

"What did you do to my daughter?" I ask through gritted teeth.

"What was required of me." He replies. I start with his fingers and work my way up, breaking each frail bone. He starts to say something before I break his wrist.

"We wanted to reverse her original serum in order to- he never gets there.

"Don't lie to me." I go back to breaking bones. I pop his shoulder out to shatter the bones with a hammer I had hid in my jacket.

His eyes go wide at the sight of it.

"Salko wanted her dead but not before torturing her to the point of begging for death. He gave us something to inject her with, intending to weaken her. Although it caused her great pain, she recovered that night. We don't know what caused it because Salko wanted to test her physically before we could get her blood tests. She never came back from her run."

He takes a labored breath and is about to go on, but I slam his head against the wall before he can speak.

The other two say similar things after I "persuade" them to. I meet Clint to compare notes and talk with Anna.

"Sounds about the same to me. Most of my guys knew what to say."

"We can ask Anna."

We pick her up and go to Central Park to talk with her.

"What really happened in the lab?"

She fidgets in her seat and sighs.

"They woke me up and injected me with what they called another 'serum'. The pain was so agonizing I blacked out after a few minutes. When I woke up, I was lying face-down in the snow, and a man told me to run. I used to do drills like that everyday, so I just ran. After what felt like forever, I collapsed. I could hear the snow mobile coming for me, so I decided to escape."

As she explains the rest of the story, I begin to realize why she lied. She felt guilty for hurting or killing most of the men. She wasn't used to blood on her hands. No matter how mature she is, she should never have to deal with this.

Anger boils inside me. They deserved what they got.

That night, Anna stays with Clint and I on the couch while we watch movies.

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.


	24. Carry On

Chapter Twenty-Four

Anna

I make a visit to Uncle Bruce's lab one afternoon late into March.

"Uncle Bruce, I need a favor."

"That's fine, Anna. What do you want?"

"Can you take my blood and analyze it? I want to know if you can find what they injected me with." When Fury asked for a blood analyze, I had said no, but curiosity had taken root and sprouted.

"Okay. You know what to do."

I move over to the table, climb up, and clean off my arm with alcohol wipes.

"Give the results to me, no one else, at least until I see them."

He nods and takes the blood.

"I should have results soon, and I'll be sure to tell Jarvis to keep the records private."

I thank him and go to find Uncle Thor, so we can play together.

"Anna, Dr. Banner had requested you." Jarvis calls out, just as I'm about to win Texas Hold'em.

"Good game, Friend Anna." He holds out his enormous hand, and I shake it.

"Thanks, you too."

"Here's your results." Uncle Bruce hands me a data sheet. As I scan it, he explains, "There were no significant changes to your serum, but I did find something in your bloodstream. I had Jarvis cross reference it. Anna, you're cancer's back. We need to go to the hospital and get a MRI to see how far it's spread."

There's nothing to say. My emotions surge like an angry ocean in a storm. On the outside, I stay calm and collected.

"They won't believe it until we have absolute proof." My parents are too stubborn as it is, but they certainly won't believe something they don't want to.

"I'll tell them." He leaves the room to find them.

I can feel their anxiety coming from the hallway as they make they way into the lab.

I say nothing as we drive to the hospital. The doctor is waiting for us, having received Uncle Bruce's message and my blood test results.

The MRI takes longer than usual, and I fall asleep. I wake up in my hospital room. Mommy and Daddy are sitting on either side of me, clutching my hands.

I sit myself up and move into Mommy's lap.

My doctor walks in.

"Anna, your cancer has come back. It's also spread to your bone marrow, which means your bones and blood are becoming cancer cells. We're so sorry. This is an aggressive form of cancer; it can grow from pea-sized tumors to baseball-sized tumors in a matter of months. With treatment, your five year prognosis is around fifty to sixty percent. The choice is yours."

My parents say nothing. The odds seem in my favor, and I don't want to leave anyone anytime soon. I still have something to finish up.

"When can I start chemo?"

"In two days, you're strong enough, but we need to put your Hickman line back in."

"Okay, thank you." She takes the hint and leaves.

I spend the night curled up between them. Both their arms around each other, holding me close between them.

The next morning, I get up and sit in the rocking chair by the window. The sun's barely over the horizon, making the sky a brilliant red/orange. Mommy joins me.

"Anna, you know more about this than any of us; do you think you can beat it for a third time?" Her voice is softer than her normal voice, sadder.

"The odds of me winning are good, but every time it's going to be different. The cancer has never been in my bones before; I'm scared." I admit.

There's no telling what will happen. She says nothing and continues to cradle me in her arms.

The team files in along with Fury and Agent Hill.

"Anna, we heard the news yesterday and wanted to visit you."

Aunt Pepper scoops me up into a hug.

"Thank you, guys." My parents put on their best smiles.

I give them a tour of the hospital, and we have lunch before my operation to install the Hickman line.

Natasha

"We can't lose her, not after coming this far." Clint sighs into his hands as we wait Anna to get out of surgery. I rub circles on his back.

"She can do it; she's strong enough."

No matter how much I reassure myself, the fear of losing her is still in the back of my mind. It takes everything I have to keep it there.

"I know she's done this before, but I can't help worrying."

"Neither can I."

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me to his chest.

Anna

Treatment starts today. I know what to expect this time around. Although, it's different with my parents. They're with me, supporting me.

As the chemo flows through my veins, I can feel myself growing weary already.

I rest my head against Mommy's chest and listen to her heart beat. She places a tender kiss to the top of my head and gently squeezes me. My eyelids droop, and sleep takes me over.

_Mikey appears._

_"Mikey!" I launch myself into his arms. He laughs as he catches me._

_"Anna, I've missed you! I just wanted to say you've done a great job; they know how to like a child, unconditionally."_

_"Is that why you're here, to take me away?" Terror surges through me. He gets a serious look on his face._

_"No, I'm just here to say how proud we are of your accomplishments." _

_"If I'm almost done, does that mean you're taking me away when I am?" Despair washes over me. I don't want to leave, not until I'm ready. _

I wake up with a start, shooting up and looking around the room.

"Ssh, Anna, you're okay. We're still here." Daddy comforts me. I stay in his arms, and we tell stories.

The past six months or so I've tried to reclaim my childhood. I don't have to take care of myself or others by myself. I have a family that looks out for me, so I can be a child. They've changed me hopefully as much as I've changed them.

Clint

We spend the next three weeks in and out of the hospital for different treatments and tests.

Tasha and I rarely let Anna out of our sight. The fear of losing her makes us want to catch every moment. Although, she still manages to escape us sometimes, like when she and Tony go out for long drives or when she and Steve go for walks to sketch random scenes.

Bruce was sent on a mission one week into her treatment, so the team keeps a close eye on her.

It blows my mind to think about what we've become, a dysfunctional family. All of us are messed up in our own way, but we make connections because of it. We were already close knit, but Anna has managed to pull us even tighter.

Personally, I see life differently. Life isn't always pretty or easy, but it's something to look forward to, especially when you have someone to share it with.

Anna had treatment this morning and is napping. Natasha and I are standing on the balcony.

"Tasha, are you okay?"

She looks dazed.

"Hmm...yeah, I'm fine, just worried. I never thought I'd have motherly instincts, but I guess I do. The whole situation feels ethereal."

"I know what you mean. I didn't think I'd be good at this, either."

"I think it's safe to say we've done a good job with her; I'm not sure we can take all the credit though."

"No, we can't. She came pretty well put together."

She nods her head and puts an arm around my waist. I reciprocate by pulling her closer to me. She rests her head on my shoulder, and we stay like that for hours, watching New York City with it's hustle and bustle.

Anna feels well enough to have dinner with the team. Dinner is full of lively conversation and laughter. Anna recounts the time she went hunting with Michael and shot four more ducks than he did. She's responding well to treatment; the tumors have shrunk fifteen percent. Thor returned yesterday with Jane to see how we were holding up and to announce their engagement.

Thor is laughing unabashedly as Anna tells him a joke. The rest of the table goes quiet before erupting into laughter as well.

We spend the night all together, watching old films on the couch.

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.

NOTE: Hope you're enjoying it. This one was a little fast, but that's because we've got somewhere to go. ;) -A.


	25. Field Day

Note: Sorry it took so long. Please enjoy! Thanks! -A.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Five

Natasha

We're doing better than I thought we would. Anna still has treatment, but she's slowly getting better. The cancer is slowly being killed off, and we're excited to see her win this battle.

"How is everything, Nat?" Pepper asks as we sit on the couch.

"It's good. I didn't really have expectations about this. Anna's improving; we're closer than we've ever been to each other before."

"Good, you deserve this, Natasha."

I shake my head and chuckle.

"No, I don't; I really don't."

"Believe what you will, but you do." Her voice is sincere.

"Thanks, Pepper."

"No problem."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Romanoff, but someone's calling for you." Jarvis informs me.

"Thank you."

I stand up and take the phone to my office.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this a Mrs. Barton, mother of Anna Barton?"

"This is she."

"Alright, this is Dr. Smith. We'd like to speak with you and your family as soon as possible."

"Okay, we'll be there in half an hour. What is this about?"

"Anna's latest test results. We'll give you more information when you get here."

I hang up.

"Jarvis, tell Clint and Anna to meet be in the garage, now, please."

"On it."

"What is it, Nat?" Clint has a worried look as he and Anna come in, Anna on his hip.

"Dr. Smith called about Anna's latest test results; she wants us to come in." I can't keep the worry out of my voice.

"It'll be okay. I'm sure they just needed to tell us in person."

"Mommy, it's going to be fine." Anna smiles reassuringly at me. I reach for her, and Clint passes her to me.

We get in the car and drive; I stay with Anna in the backseat.

Panic floods through me along with "what if's". I keep a protective arm around Anna's chest as she leans against me and watches the city fly by out the window.

Clint speeds, so we get there in fifteen minutes. Dr. Smith is waiting for us.

"Hello, guys. Please come with me." We follow her to a screening room.

"I'm going to honest with you guys. The cancer is spreading, which means its becoming unresponsive to the treatment. We've looked into other forms of treatment, but we haven't found any that can promise Anna very much time."

Time stops as she pauses to let us take this in. I stare ahead, breaking apart on the inside.

"I'm so sorry. As these latest MRI's show, Anna's cancer had been shrinking, but we've found new growth along the base of her skull."

"How long do I have?" Anna's voice is steady and calm.

"Given your circumstances and the rate of cancer growth, nine months to a year. We'll take out the Hickman soon. If you want, you'll be eligible for Hospice Care when you have less than six months left."

How encouraging and comforting.

"Okay, and no thank you. I think my family can take care of me."

"Once again, I'm so sorry. You know I love you very much, Anna."

Anna hugs Dr. Smith and says goodbye.

I'm still frozen, absorbing everything. I feel Anna's warmth as she climbs onto my lap.

She holds my face with her hands and presses our foreheads together.

"I won't go until you're ready." She kisses my forehead. I clutch her to me, and Clint leads us out of the hospital, home.

"Jarvis, tell everyone, including Fury, Phil, and Maria to get in here now. It's an emergency."

Everyone comes in and notices the look on our faces of despair.

"What is it, Agent Barton?" Fury asks.

"The cancer spread. I probably have nine to twelve months." Anna speaks up before Clint or I can sat anything.

Everyone's faces turn to shock, even Fury's.

"I'm very sad to hear that." Fury says politely, hugs Anna, and walks out.

Anna gets up and hugs everyone else, placing a kiss on their cheek's.

"We're so sorry. We'll leave and let you guys cope." Pepper stands up and pulls everyone else out of the room.

"Please, say something." Anna begs us.

"Anna-" Clint tries to say before choking up and pulling her into his chest. Tears fall from his eyes onto her head.

"I love you so much, baby." He whispers into her ear.

"I won't leave until you're ready; I promise." She pulls back, and I join them.

Anna and I continue our tradition on the roof, but the ambience is changed up there. I don't let her go, and she doesn't leave my arms.

Anna

Physically, nothing has changed. My Hickman was removed, and the bruises and sunburns from treatment are healing.

Emotionally, I feel confused. There are so many emotions, all flowing freely through me. I feel guilty, ashamed, angry, terrified, and brave all at the same time.

The tower seems sadder, but I wish it wasn't. My family and the team seem to be fighting a lot lately. I just want everyone to get along.

"Uncle Tony, you've got to help me make everyone happy again."

"I'm not sure if we can do that, squirt."

"Sure we can. I have an idea."

"Okay, let's hear it."

I tell him about what I've been thinking of doing, and he helps me improve it.

A week of preparation later, "operation happy" is ready to be carried out.

"Ready, Anna." I nod my head.

"Everyone, welcome to team bonding aka Avenger's field day. First, we'll be split into teams. Legolas and Spidey, Demi-God and Squirt, the Doctor and Cap, and Pepper and me."

Everyone grumbles but moves to be with their partner.

"Okay, first competition, falling with style. Now, to the roof!" I announce and head up to the roof with Uncle Thor.

"The goal is to stay in the air the longest. No use of special powers!" Uncle Tony yells over the howling wind.

Each group has a hang glider. Mommy and Daddy's is red with a bow and arrow printed on it. Uncle Bruce and Uncle Steve's is red, white, and blue. Uncle Tony's is red and gold, naturally. Uncle Thor and I have a blue one with a yellow lightning bolt.

"Okay, Uncle Thor, you put your arms on these bars, and I go between your arms. You need to direct us against the wind to gain altitude."

I hold on, and he does what I say.

"If she has one scratch, you'll regret it!" Daddy warns Uncle Thor.

We push off at the same time. It takes Uncle Thor a second, but he quickly gets the hang of it. He's probably used to flying with his Mjölnir.

Uncle Bruce and Uncle Steve are the first to land in the field that we had directed everyone towards.

Aunt Pepper and Uncle Tony are next to land, leaving me and Uncle Thor against my parents.

Finally, we have to land because I feel light-headed.

"Are you alright?" Mom asks me the second they land.

"I'm okay, just a little light-headed."

"Let us know if you start to feel sick."

"I will."

"Our first winners with fifty points, Katniss and Red! Second with forty points, Squirt and Thunder. Third with thirty points, the amazing Iron Man and his lady, Pepper! And in last with twenty points, Brains and Brawn."

"Next up! We have pushups with a twist. You must choose one partner to sit on the other's back while the other partner does as many pushups as they can."

We have mats set up.

Mom gets on Dad's back, Pepper on Tony's, Bruce on Steve's, and I sit criss-crossed on the small of Thor's back.

"Ready, set, go!"

Near the end, it's Thor against Steve. This time, we win with one-hundred and eleven pushups.

"Tied for first, the Mini-assassin and Goldy-locks with ninety points and Susan and the Regular-sized Assassin also with ninety points. Another tie, this time for second second, Angry and Hefty with sixty points and Billionaire, philanthropist, playboy, gen-"

"We get it, Stark." Dad interrupts him.

"Our next event is zip line. The goal is to be the fastest down."

We take one of Uncle Tony's cars to the zip line. There are lasers measuring each of our individual times. The combined time for each group is what' going to be used.

I scream and laugh the whole way down, and Uncle Thor yells. Everyone else keeps the yelling and screaming to a minimum.

Mom and Dad take first, followed by Uncle Steve and Uncle Bruce. Uncle Thor and I take third, and Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper take fourth.

"Our final event is a scavenger hunt. You must obtain the items on your list and get back to the tower first."

Everything on the lists is for someone else, like a gift exchange. I wanted to get everyone something, and this was a good excuse. Uncle Thor and I get something special for my parents at a local jewelry store.

We meet everyone back at the tower to exchange our "gifts".

I get a drawing kit from Uncle Steve, and he receives some of the books in my collection, from classics to histories. Aunt Pepper gets new a vase and oil painting from Mom. She gives Uncle Bruce a sealed box with a radiation warning on it. He thanks her and hands Uncle Thor a box of sweets from various bakeries around NYC. Uncle Thor wastes no time in breaking it open but somehow manages to hand Daddy my gift. It's a chain with his wedding ring, and hawk and nest charms. He raises an eyebrow at me for stealing his ring but chuckles at the charms. Dad passes Uncle Tony a small box, containing some new gadget. Uncle Tony hands Mommy my secret gift, another chain. This one has her wedding ring, spider charm, and engraved charm. The engraved charm reads "I love you - Anna". She smiles and walks over to where I'm seated to hug me.

"I love you, too."

I wrap my arms around her neck as she carries me back to her spot next to Dad.

"Now that we've had a fantastic day, we're going to have a Toy Story marathon." Uncle Tony says as we get settled in.

By the third movie, my eyelids are drooping, and I can barely hear the movie. Today was fun, but my energy is gone. I rest my head on Mommy's lap. She rakes her fingernails through the short hair on my head.

I wake up surrounded by everyone on the couch. Uncle Thor is snoring loudly, but no one seems to mind. Today already feels like a bad day; my usual energy is replaced with fatigue.

I slowly make my way to the roof. Once I'm there, I lean against one of the air conditioning units and slide down to sitting position.

Mom joins me.

"Hey", I smile up at her before she sits down beside me.

"Good morning."

I take a deep breath.

"Mommy, I need a favor."

"Okay." Her voice has subtle hints of apprehension and curiosity.

"When the times comes, I'd like to be buried next to my brother."

I'm not sure if she wants to think about this, but we can't ignore it forever, might as well get it out now. She says nothing, but I can tell she was expecting this.

"Anything else is up to you and Dad; it's fine with me."

Her face changes as if she's mulling it over.

Natasha

As Anna presents her request, it hits me how real this all is. There's no more hiding from it or ignoring it. She is dying and will one day leave me. My walls didn't crumble; they simply vanished, leaving me exposed to pure, raw emotion.

I feel her eyes, staring through me. Finally, I return her gaze. Her eyes are full of determination and love as if she's willing me to carry on. I shake my head; I can't.

She stands up, still shorter than I am sitting and kisses my cheek before whispering an "I love you" and going inside.

Tears prick the corners of my eyes and blur my vision. The heat she was giving off is gone, and I feel so empty inside. I'm afraid that this is what it will feel like every second after she leaves. I can no longer hold back the emotion and end up sobbing into my hands. I hear faint footsteps over my crying, and Anna's pulling me to her chest and stroking my hair. She says nothing and lets me cry myself out.

After many minutes trying to regain some control, I look up at her. She wipes my tears with her small fingers and collapses against me.

Anna

Mommy and I stay out on the roof the entire night, talking and watching the stars.

"Do you think that they'll find a cure?"

"I hope so."

"So do I; I don't want anyone to ever go through this."

"Neither do I, honey."

"Mommy?"

"Hmmm?"

"Promise me you'll move on." I look in the face, and my voice grows cold.

"Anna, please." She almost begs.

"I don't want you to stop living because I have; you have to keep moving forward, no matter how hard it is. I promise to never leave you." I have to let her know how I feel.

"Not now, maybe later."

"Okay."

I rest my head on her shoulder.

As I fall asleep, I hear her soft voice singing a lullaby.

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and her family.

NOTE: I know some of it may seem arbitrary, but I just wanted to entertain the idea. So, I hope you enjoyed it! ;) -A.


	26. Old Friends

Chapter Twenty-six

Natasha

The next few weeks get easier as we don't really leave the tower very much.

When the men from Anna's base heard about her current condition, they asked to see her, so today, we are leaving the tower to meet them in Central Park because Anna can't travel.

She dresses in a khaki skirt, combat boots, and a green button up shirt. She looks adorable.

At eight, over fifty men are waiting for us near the entrance of the park by The Plaza. They're all dressed in uniform. Anna runs to meet them, and Sgt. T picks her up.

"Mr. and Mrs. Barton, nice to see you again, especially you, Anna."

Clint shakes his hand, and Anna proceeds to call the men to attention. It's a sight, a little girl commanding marines around Central Park, going through their drills by heart. Finally, she relieves them and introduces them to us by name and rank.

They each bend down to kiss her small hand and turn to salute us.

"Thank you for taking care of our Anna. We are sorry to hear of her recent prognosis." One of the men steps forward and apologizes.

"Thank you for making sure she got to us safely."

Anna's feet never touch the ground as the men swing her, carry her on their shoulders, or throw her through Central Park. They tour through the park, stopping to read every sign or to look at the statues.

Clint and I follow them, listening to their stories and hearing Anna's laughter fill the cool, spring air.

"One time, they got punished for pranking a general, and they had to run twenty-five miles with me on their backs. They weren't allowed to set me down or have me on someone's back more than five minutes. I held the stopwatch, as Sgt. supervised from his ATV. I sang songs to keep them distracted. When they were done, I went to take a shower, and they had to do another workout." Anna recalls as we eat hotdogs from a vendor.

One of the men, much shorter than the rest, laughs.

"What about the time you disappeared for a day! We thought you got kidnapped or killed; we spent the entire day searching for you. Eventually, we found you in the ventilation system, looking for who-knows what."

"Hey! I was just curious about where they went. I saw them everyday, running from room-to-room, and I wanted to know. Turns out, they were really easy to get lost in."

"For over twenty hours! It must be confusing up there!"

"Maybe you'd know if you could fit up there and see for yourself!" Anna snaps back playfully.

"Oohs" chorus from the crowd, sitting around Anna. She just smirks.

"Anna, when we asked the hospital, they said you had less than a year left. How long do you expect to live?"

An older man kindly asks Anna.

"Well, it's been about two months, so I have anywhere from seven to ten months left. I'm happy I get to spend today with you guys. I've missed your company." She smiles around at the marines. They all grin back at her.

"Can we head towards F.A.O. Schwartz?"

"Of course." Sgt. replies, and the men rise as one.

Anna chooses to walk, holding our hands. The men form around us, and we can no longer see what's in front of us.

We hold conversation with them easily, telling them about how Anna's been dealing with everything from Mrs. Crown's death to the cancer relapse.

Once we reach the toy store, the men part as Anna walks through them. They salute us as we pass them and turn to follow us in rows of three.

Anna plays on the piano for a while and finds anover-sized stuffed animal to play with.

"Would you like anything?" A young, blonde haired man asks Anna as they walk hand-in-hand down one of the aisles.

She shakes her head, pulling him closer so she can whisper in his ear. He stands back up, nodding solemnly.

Clint and I share a look, but Anna glances back and gives us a thumbs up, signifying that everything is okay.

We all cram into several cabs to go to Serendipity 3 forna snack. Anna stays with Clint and I and starts to nod off a little, during the ride.

When we get there, she gets the Serendipitous Hot Chocolate and shares it with us. We sit in the middle of a massive table, flanked by marines.

Anna moves around, talking with each of the men.

"You've done good with her. She certainly wouldn't be this happy with us, especially after losing her other parents." Gen. Thomas, who is sitting across from me, compliments.

"Thank you, but most of the credit goes to her. She's been very mature about this whole thing." Clint responds.

Gen. Thomas just smiles and agrees.

"Yes, she's like the perfect combination of wit, maturity, love and laughter. We miss her at the base, not seeing her bright smile or hearing her laugh."

After finishing our drinks, we go to LaGuardia Aiport to see the men off. They don't know when their flight is; they just go when they're told.

"Goodbye!" Anna makes sure to hug each marine. Some of them have tears in their eyes as we leave.

Anna falls asleep the second we get into the cab for the long ride home.

"I'm happy we met them." I whisper to Clint.

"I am, too. I think Anna really needed this."

"Yes, I'm sure of it. She obviously loves them."

She lit up when we told her and hasn't stopped smiling since we got up this morning.

We arrive at the tower at about eight.

I carry her small, sleeping form to her bed and lay her down.

Anna

I wake up outside in Mommy's arms. The sun is well above the skyline; I must've slept in.

"Good morning" I mumble up at Mommy.

"Morning, how are you feeling?"

"Tired, but otherwise fine." I stretch my arms.

"Daddy and I have to work at the office because Fury's a horrible boss."

I giggle at her joke.

"I'll just hang out with Uncle Tony or something."

"Fine, but take it easy. You still seem really tire from yesterday."

"Alright, I don't feel like doing much anyways."

She kisses my nose and carries me downstairs to the living room.

Daddy meets us there.

"See you later, Bug. I love you."

"Love you, too."

They leave, and I go to find Uncle Tony.

Natasha

When we reach our office building, the other agents stop and stare at us, which we're used to, just not out of sympathy.

Clint and I stare straight ahead, not making eye contact with anyone until we get to our office.

"I'm not sure that was any better than before."

"It wasn't." I reply curtly.

There's a stack of folders with paper work for us to fill out.

As I'm working on my half, the picture of Anna and I's first time on the roof catches my eye. It's a side view with her sitting in my lap and her head tucked under my chin.

A loud clatter from the hallway startles me. As I whip around to see where it came from, I knock over the picture.

I let out a few curse words as I lean over to pick up the picture. The photo had fallen out of the frame. As I pick it up, I notice the back of it. It reads, "There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope. -B. Williams". I smile and hand it to Clint, who had gone outside to check what the noise was.

A grin spreads over his face.

About two weeks later, Anna is playing with Steve; they're playing blackjack because it's one that Steve knows how to play.

His low laugh fills the loving room as she reveals a jack and a ten.

"You're good."

"What can I say, Uncle Steve?"

She laughs loudly and stands up to put the cards back on the shelf.

As she leans over, her throat makes a weird noise as she falls forward onto the Steve catches her before she hits the ground.

"What just happened?!" I scream.

"I don't know; she just fell over."

I grab her out of his arms and go back to the couch.

"Anna, honey, wake up. Jarvis! Call Bruce, now!"

Bruce runs in and calms himself before taking her.

"Her vitals are okay. She probably passed out from fatigue; her body's immune system is in override, trying to kill an indestructible disease. She'll be okay, just let her rest as much as she wants. She isn't really going to be in control how tired she is; she'll just sleep way more than a normal person would."

"Okay, thank you."

"If you have any questions, you know where to find me."

Moments like these are when her cancer feels most real. Most of time, we can push it to the back of my heads, but now we have to come face to face with it.

Clint and I take her back to our floor to let her rest.

She sleeps until three o'clock the next day. The second she wakes up, I check her over and look her in the eyes.

"Anna, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright, still tired. How long was I asleep?" Her voice is scratchy and sleep-filled.

"Almost twenty-seven hours. Honey, are you sure you're okay?"

She nods half heartedly.

"We probably can't do much, aside from pain meds, but I'm not in pain. It'll be okay; I promise."

I hold her to my chest, relief washing over me.

Clint joins us, and we stay out there until it's time to eat dinner.

Anna

These days, I sleep more than I'm awake, which is hard on me because I miss out on so much of my family's life.

When I am awake, we try to fit in as much fun as we can.

"Hey! Wait a minute, you cheated!"

"Uncle Steve, everyone cheats, even Uncle Bruce. You can't win if you don't."

He starts to say something but gives up and sits back down.

"It's alright, Cap. We all know you like to play fair." Uncle Tony teases and wags his eyebrows at him.

We play ten more rounds of poker, and I win three of them.

We order pizza and finish the night with board games.

"Can we go to our spot?" I ask Mommy, and she nods.

"Do you want to talk?"

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to go. I miss out on so much as it is. I just don't want to go."

"You're not going anywhere anytime soon. We'll be right here."

"Okay." I say half-heartedly.

"It'll be okay."

"Are you scared to die?"

"When I was younger, I was taught not to fear death, just to get the job done. I'm not afraid of it, but I'm still not ready to leave either."

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.

Hope you're enjoying it. Sorry about my tardiness; it gets really busy at my house sometimes. Thanks! -A.


	27. The Last Days

NOTE: Sorry for my lateness; I've been a little busy. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Twenty-seven

Clint  
When you have a little girl, your job is to keep her safe, but as a parent, cancer makes you feel helpless and useless. I want to take it all away from her, but I can't.  
Tasha hasn't been much better about this. We spend many hours in the gym sparring or flat out fighting because of how mad we get. Although, we never stay too long from Anna or the team.  
The team has been trying to give us space, but it's easy to tell that they don't want to miss out on anything either.  
Some days, it feels like everything is going to be okay; we can ignore our worries. Other days, like when Anna sleeps more than seventeen hours, it feels like we're on the edge of losing everything.

Anna  
I wake up, and everything is burning. Although it isn't as bad as the "test" serum, it's enough to wake me up and keep me up.  
Daddy is holding me. He must've noticed me wince because he asks if I'm okay.  
"Everything hurts, Daddy." I try not to sound whiney, but it really does hurt.  
"It's okay. You have pain meds coming your way."  
Because I still don't have a definite six months left, I take pills instead of injections.  
The pills only dull the pain.  
I lean back against the couch.  
"Where's Mom?"  
"She left two hours ago for a mission Fury said it would be short, but her expertise was needed. He also said it would be the last one either her or I go on for a while. She should be back by tomorrow."  
"Okay." I try to keep the disappointment out of my voice.  
"She'll be okay; she can handle herself."

I have a small lunch and play games with Daddy until dinner. By that point, I'm already tired, so he tucks me in. The next time I wake up, Uncle Steve is next to me.  
"Anna, your Mother sent a distress call early this morning, and we're going to help."  
"What about me? Can I help?"  
"Anna, I don't think you should come." Dad walks over dressed in his uniform.  
"Please, you know I have training plus I have an Iron Suit; I could just wear that."  
I want to help bring my mother back.  
"I'm not sure your having a suit convinces me."  
"Come on, Katniss. I make high quality stuff. She's not going to get hurt; besides, it's not like she's going to get to go on more missions after this. We'll make sure no harm comes to her, and Jarvis will be able go read her vitals."  
Uncle Tony takes my side.  
"Please, if it gets too much, I'll find Uncle Phil or something."  
"You can come on the quinjet but no fighting."  
"Okay!" I get changed and head with them for debriefing.

"Agent Romanoff's last checkpoint was near New Delhi, India, about ten miles southeast. Go in, get her, and bring her back."  
The file says that she was looking into nuclear power imports from China to India.

The quinjet is fast, and we arrive at seven fifteen, their time. I sleep the entire way.  
When we arrive, everyone gets off but me. I stay with Uncle Phil.  
I still have an earpiece, so I can keep up with everyone.  
"How's it looking?" I ask.  
"Not good, they're holding her in some kind of cave-like thing." Uncle Steve responds.  
"Let me know if I can help."  
"Only if we absolutely need your help, okay?" Daddy replies.  
"That's fine, just tell, and I'll be there."

The next hour, they spend devising a plan and going through with it. I listen to their conversations.  
"Steve, if we cut through, they'll cut us off. We need to stay unnoticed."  
"We can't be unnoticed, not with an Iron Man or Hulk running around."  
"Fine, but I'm going in first. I'll alert you when you can come." Dad compromises.

I hear scuffling and shooting as he makes his way to Mom.  
I also hear plenty of cussing and nervous chatter from both Dad and the team.  
Finally, Dad stops, and all I hear is heavy breathing.  
"Okay, I'm pretty sure I found where she is." He whispers.

More noises come through, the grating of metal against concrete and soft conversation in Italian.  
"I need backup, now." Dad yell-whispers.  
"I have his coordinates, sending them right now." Uncle Phil informs the rest of the team.  
About fifteen minutes later, I'm allowed at the entrance of the facility.  
When I see Daddy come out, I run to him.  
"Where's Mommy?"  
"She's alright; she'll be here shortly."  
He picks me up and hugs me to his chest.  
"We need to get out of here, now, Barton!" Uncle Phil starts pushing us towards the quinjet.  
"We have to wait for Mommy."  
"I'm right here; let's go."  
She runs over to us and snatches me from Daddy's arms. I notice that she's limping on her left foot and has several cuts and bruises on her.  
She still manages to squeeze me to her and not let anyone near us.

Natasha  
Clint, Anna and I join the team for dinner at a fast food place when we get back.  
When we get back to our floor, I go and take a shower. Then, Clint and I patch each other up.  
"Thank you."  
"This is what we always do, rescue each other."

Anna is asleep in the center of the bed.  
"Good night."  
"You, too."  
We climb under the covers next ti Anna and fall asleep.

Even though I'm sore, I still carry Anna's sleeping form up to the roof the next morning. Her head is against my shoulder, and arms around my neck. Her soft breathes hit my neck and make me shiver.

My mission was supposed to be easy, but they had been prepared. I was captured and tortured, and all I wanted to do was get back to Clint and Anna.  
I'm still processing the fact that one day, Anna will be gone. I want to deny it with everything in my being. She's just a child; she hasn't even driven a car or kissed a boy. All this anger boils up inside me, but whenever she's around, she quells it. She once described it as too much work to be mad about her situation because she'd have to hate everything and everyone that brought her here, including Clint and me, which she said couldn't be possible.  
I've been surprised at how much it really hurts me to imagine a life without her. When she was born, I was willing to let her go, but now, I need her. She's shown me how to love and how to a life based solely on it. She doesn't just tell you she loves you, she lives out that love. Anna amazes me with how thoughtful she is. Either, she's doing some crazy thing for Tony or just being there for Steve. She knows how to make each of us feel comfortable, loved, safe, and happy; it makes me proud to call her mine.

She stirs and wakes up, pulling me from my thoughts.  
"Hi, Mommy. I'm happy you're safe." There are bags under her eyes, and her voice is weak.  
"I am, too. I love you."  
"Love you more." She whispers in my ear before closing her eyes and succumbing to sleep.

Anna  
How are you supposed to prepare people for your death? You can't just pull away from them or leave them.  
I just try to reassure them that I know they love me, and I love them.

I have moments where I have more energy, and I guess that's the signal that my time is coming to an end. The past few months, I sleep on the couch in the living room, surrounded by pillows and blankets.

Even with the bursts of energy, I feel exhausted.  
Today, I feel miserable. Everything is crying out in pain, and drowsiness is a constant.  
"Anna, honey. How are you doing?"  
My father's voice wakes me up.  
"It hurts." No use in lying anymore.  
"Just hold on for us a little while longer."  
I nod feebly and try not to fall asleep.  
I look around, and everyone is sitting around the room. Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper are curled up against each other on the other side of Mommy. Uncle Thor is staring out the window from a chair. Uncle Steve is reading drawing something, and Uncle Bruce is reading a magazine about biomedical breakthroughs.  
I can tell Mommy and Daddy are on edge. I move from under the blankets to Mommy's lap.  
She spreads the blanket over us and starts to sing.  
My eyes close.  
"Daddy?" I can feel his weight shift as he moves closer on the couch.  
"Yeah, Anna."  
"I think it's time."  
The room goes silent, and I feel everyone's eyes on me.  
"Anna, I", is all he says.  
"Sweetheart, are you sure?" Mommy's voice is heart-broken.  
Fat tears roll down my cheeks as I nod. I sit up and hold her face in my small hands. I kiss her cheek, and she kisses both of mine and my nose.  
Daddy takes me and kisses my cheeks before returning me to her lap.  
I shut my eyes and cling to Mommy.  
"I love you guys so much." I barely whisper before slowly letting go.

Natasha  
At seven thirty-eight on Tuesday, August 25, Anna Lucy Barton passed away in the arms of her mother. Five hours after speaking her last words, she left us.

The funeral is beautiful. There are colorful bouquets lining the pews, and pictures of her surrounded by flowers, lace and ribbon. Her coffin is simple, blue with patterns carved into it.  
Over five hundred people show up. Some are family or friends of the Crowns'. Others know her from her long hospital stays, and the majority are marines.  
We watch a video of her life to Ocean Wide by the Afters, For Good from Wicked, and Here You Me by Jimmy Eat World.  
I find myself sobbing by the last song.  
Sgt. T takes the stage.  
"Anna was a wonderful little girl with an enormous heart and love for life and the people she shared it with. She knew just enough to be a genius but also to be innocent as the child she was. She toughed through the hard times and managed to keep a grin on her face. Anna, from everyone at the base, we miss you and love you."

Bruce goes up next.  
"Anna always found a way to make people feel accepted. No matter who you are, Anna accepted you into her life with love. Even with her past, she forgave wrongs and moved on, demonstrating immense maturity and awesome kindness. She would play games with me or ask me what I was doing, just to make sure I didn't feel left out. It will be difficult carrying on without you, Anna, but not impossible. Thank you for accepting me as part of your family."  
Because this is a public service, we can't give away who we are; we're simply the family she lived with in an upscale apartment building, except Tony and Pepper, who met her at a charity event at her hospital.  
He wipes the tears rolling down his face and side-hugs Steve as he comes up to the podium.  
"What I will miss most about Anna, besides her presence, is her willingness to press on in the fight. She never lost hope. When she knew the end was near, she didn't lose faith that we would be okay and move on. She also had wonderful art skills; she used to sit with me for hours at a time and draw. She knew that she had fought to the last breathe and made sure we knew how much she loved us."  
He hugs me and shakes hands with Clint as Tony take stage.  
"I'm not a humble person, but Anna was. She had come so far and endured so much, but she never boasted. She taught me to think of other first, which I rarely did before I met her. I wouldn't say I'm perfected, but I am better because I knew her."  
His voice cracks several times, but he doesn't stop until he's through, and Pepper escorts him offstage.  
"Anna changed all our lives, training us to be better people. She was just the right amount of love, forgiveness, patience, and hope to put up with each of us. She wasn't perfect, but she didn't claim perfection. She understood that life was more than that. She showed me how to have fun and let loose every once in a while. Sometimes, she'd make me take her to the park or just play a board game to take a break from work. I thank you, Anna, for teaching us everything you knew about life and how to live it."

Clint stands up and makes his way to the stage.  
"When we adopted Anna, we knew we were in for an adventure. She took us on much more than an adventure; it was a journey, traveling from point A to point B. She showed me how to thrive at life. We both share hard pasts. I've never dealt with it well, but she encouraged me to make my peace with it and move on. She's taught me so much. I don't have time, but she knows exactly how much she means to me. Anna, thank you for loving me and being mine for a little while."  
I slowly rise from my seat. I'm not nervous; I just feel empty.  
"Anna, love, we spoke a lot before you died, and you asked me to let you go. I can't let you go; you'll alway be in my heart. I promised to never leave you, and I won't, ever. I remember when you first came to live with us; you were cautious but willing. You let me be a mother, when I didn't think I could be one. You told me that I was doing a good job and not to worry. It never entirely calmed my fears, but it did make me smile. That's what you do, make people smile. No matter how bad my day is, you jump in my arms and make my day with your giggles. I'm so happy to call you my little girl. Anna, I'll always remember you."

The burial is a slow process as they dig the hole and her casket is lowered into the ground.  
Her gravestone reads

Anna Lucy Barton  
March 16, 2013 - August 25, 2021  
A loving daughter, sister, and friend

* * *

Don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.

Also, stay tuned for an epilogue. Thank you for taking this journey; I hope you've liked as much as I have. :) -A.


	28. Live at It's Finest

So this is it. :( I really hope you've enjoyed this crazy ride as much as I have. Thank you! -A.

* * *

Epilogue

_Mommy,_  
_This is the final letter of the series. It's been ten years. I know you've carried on without me for some time, but I just want you to know that it's going to be okay. _  
_If you go to my room and it's still the same, you'll find a box hidden in the vents, containing a blue blanket. I got this blanket from Mrs. Crown for my first Christmas. To me, it symbolizes family and love, and that's what you and everyone else here are to me, a family to love. It has my first name embroidered on the front, top right corner. Please, feel free to do whatever you want with it. _  
_Finally, I'd like to thank you for loving me and making me happy. You are the strongest person I know in so many ways, physically, mentally and emotionally. You don't promise perfection, just your very best every time. You're a good mother and a loving wife. I will see you again._  
_I love you!_  
_Forever Yours,_  
_Anna Barton_

I set down the letter and bury my face in my hands.  
She always knows exactly what to say.

Her room is still the same. We occasionally look through her things but usually just sit or sleep in there when we miss her.  
The box is right where she said it was. The blanket is bigger than I thought it would be, almost the queen size. It smells strongly of her.  
I wrap myself in it and go up to the roof.  
It's looks the same and sounds the same, but it feels as if something's missing. I allow my thoughts to surface.  
The first few months were miserable to get through. I barely ate because I slept so much. She would appear in my dreams and make me never want to wake up. Clint had to be the strong one and force me to wake up and live again.

He retreated to his nest or disappeared a lot, during that time.  
At the one year mark, we held a small memorial at her gravesite, just the team, Fury and Maria. We ate her favorite meal for dinner, grilled cheese and tomato soup with brownies for dessert.  
Around August every year, Clint and I go to her grave, leave flowers and notes, and vacation far away.  
We had just gotten back from Cambodia two days ago.  
We thought about adopting another child but decided not to as Pepper had twins, a girl and a boy, four years ago. Katie and Kyle Stark keep everyone's hands full with their crazy and wild antics.  
They had asked about Anna earlier this year, and we told them. After listening to the story, they, first off, cried but then asked to meet her. We introduced them in March on her birthday. They've handled it well, occasionally asking about what she was like or her favorited things.

"Hey." Clint interrupts my train of thought.  
"Hey." I respond.  
"Where'd you get the blanket?"  
"Anna gave me instructions in her letter about where to find it."  
"I got a bracelet."  
"Really?" I chuckle a little as he shows me a silver bracelet with charms on it. It has a heart, a book, a brain, a ribbon with "find a cure" engraved on it, the marine's symbol, and a crown charm.  
"Can you believe it's been a decade?" He asks.  
I shake my head.  
"No, it doesn't; it feels like yesterday she was in my arms, smiling and laughing. What about you?"  
"Same, sometimes it almost seems unreal, like I'll wake up, and she'll be asleep in her room or something."  
"Do you think it'll get better?"  
"I hope so; we've come this far."  
"We have come pretty far. Thank you for sticking it out with me."  
"Of course", he replies.  
He leans in, and his lips are soft against mine. After a while, we separate and continue to watch the city come to life.  
We stay outside until Pepper calls us inside for lunch.

Everyone is sitting around the table, scooping themselves macaroni and cheese. When we arrive, Pepper stands up.  
"Tony and I have a suggestion. How about we donate money for the new hospital wing at Anna's hospital? They've decided to rebuild it and include more research space and individual room space. We could call it the Anna Barton Pediatric Oncology/ Hematology Wing, but of course, we wanted to ask you, Clint and Natasha, first."

Clint and I share a few glances and discuss the matter.  
"We'd love it, as long as we get to help fund it."  
"Sure, I'll contact the hospital after lunch."  
The rest of lunch is filled with pleasant conversation.

Clint  
Almost seven months after we offered financial help, the wing is completed. Today, Tasha and I get to cut the ribbon and officially open that wing of the hospital.

"Thank you all for coming today and supporting us. Anna was an amazing little girl with a zest for life. She touched everyone she met. This wing has new treatment facilities, more lab space, and better-suited space for patients and their families. I know if Anna were here, she'd be jumping off the walls with excitement. Thank you for letting us be a part of this."  
Everyone claps, and we both cut the ribbon.  
"How are you two?" Dr. Smith comes over.  
"We're good, carrying on and all. What about you?"  
"Been alright, I'm retiring soon. I have a family that needs me now, a little boy and two girls."  
"Good luck. It was nice seeing you."  
"Thank you, I enjoyed seeing you, too."

I walk over to the plaque with Anna's picture on it. In the picture, she's laughing and holding our hands; her head is bald. She looks happy. Underneath the picture it says.  
"There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope -B. Williams"  
It also says:  
"Live life to the fullest; laugh as much as you can, and love every second of it -Anna Barton"

* * *

Still don't own Marvel, just Anna and family.

Any-who, thank you for reading!


End file.
